Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Sells 499,642 Shares of Target Corporation $TGT

Key Points

• Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA cut its stake in Target by 51.8%, selling 499,642 shares in Q4 and retaining 465,526 shares worth about $45.5 million.
• Target beat Q4 EPS estimates ($2.44 vs. $2.16) despite a 1.5% revenue decline, set Q1 2026 guidance of $1.30 and FY2026 of $7.50–$8.50, and declared a $1.14 quarterly dividend (3.8% yield).
• Analysts hold a consensus Hold rating with an average price target of $116.32, although several firms recently raised targets (e.g., Morgan Stanley to $145, RBC to $130).

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA reduced its holdings in shares of Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT - Free Report) by 51.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 465,526 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 499,642 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned about 0.10% of Target worth $45,505,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. WFA of San Diego LLC bought a new stake in shares of Target during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates lifted its holdings in Target by 192.0% during the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 292 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 192 shares in the last quarter. Heartwood Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Target during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Tripletail Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Target during the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Key Financial Inc lifted its holdings in Target by 77.4% during the 3rd quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 346 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. 79.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. BNP Paribas Exane lifted their price objective on shares of Target from $63.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $130.00 price objective on shares of Target in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Target from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Target in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $115.00 target price on shares of Target in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $116.32.

Target Trading Up 1.4%

NYSE:TGT opened at $119.57 on Wednesday. Target Corporation has a one year low of $83.44 and a one year high of $126.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.94. The firm has a market cap of $54.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.71, a P/E/G ratio of 4.91 and a beta of 1.03. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $117.24 and a 200-day simple moving average of $103.33.

Target (NYSE:TGT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 3rd. The retailer reported $2.44 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.28. Target had a net margin of 3.54% and a return on equity of 22.25%. The business had revenue of $30.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $30.52 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.41 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Target has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.300- EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 7.500-8.500 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Target Corporation will post 8.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 13th will be issued a $1.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 13th. This represents a $4.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.8%. Target's payout ratio is currently 56.09%.

Insider Activity at Target

In other news, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 2,053 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.19, for a total value of $240,591.07. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 12,143 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,423,038.17. The trade was a 14.46% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Target Company Profile

Target Corporation NYSE: TGT is a U.S.-based general merchandise retailer headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The company operates a network of full-line and small-format stores across the United States alongside a national e-commerce platform and mobile app. Target’s retail assortment spans apparel, home goods, electronics, groceries and household essentials, plus beauty, baby and pet categories. The firm complements national brands with a portfolio of owned and exclusive labels and partnerships that help differentiate its merchandise assortment.

Target traces its roots to the Dayton Company, founded by George Dayton in 1902; the Target discount chain was launched in 1962 and the parent company later adopted the Target Corporation name.

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