Midwest Trust Co Sells 35,383 Shares of Target Corporation $TGT

Key Points

• Midwest Trust Co cut its Target stake by 25.5% in the fourth quarter, selling 35,383 shares and leaving it with 103,411 shares valued at about $10.1 million.
• Analysts remain mixed on Target: several firms raised price targets, but the overall consensus rating is still Hold with an average target price of $118.04.
• Target reported stronger-than-expected quarterly EPS of $2.44, and it also announced a quarterly dividend of $1.14 per share, implying a 3.6% annual yield.

Midwest Trust Co decreased its holdings in shares of Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT - Free Report) by 25.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 103,411 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 35,383 shares during the period. Midwest Trust Co's holdings in Target were worth $10,108,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Oxbow Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Target in the 4th quarter worth approximately $414,000. NewEdge Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Target by 26.3% in the 4th quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 18,618 shares of the retailer's stock worth $1,820,000 after purchasing an additional 3,872 shares during the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. boosted its stake in Target by 29.9% in the 4th quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 30,365 shares of the retailer's stock worth $2,968,000 after purchasing an additional 6,993 shares in the last quarter. Ethic Inc. grew its position in Target by 19.5% during the 4th quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 39,111 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $3,823,000 after purchasing an additional 6,377 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ballast Inc. increased its stake in Target by 6.4% during the 4th quarter. Ballast Inc. now owns 16,417 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,605,000 after purchasing an additional 992 shares in the last quarter. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on TGT shares. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Target from an "underperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $91.00 to $116.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Target from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 27th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Target from $130.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $132.00 price objective on shares of Target in a research report on Friday. Finally, Bank of America assumed coverage on Target in a research note on Friday, February 27th. They set an "underperform" rating and a $103.00 target price on the stock. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eighteen have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $118.04.

Target Stock Down 0.1%

TGT opened at $125.18 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $56.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.40, a PEG ratio of 5.22 and a beta of 1.01. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $121.35 and a 200-day moving average price of $107.47. Target Corporation has a twelve month low of $83.44 and a twelve month high of $133.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89.

Target (NYSE:TGT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, March 3rd. The retailer reported $2.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $30.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $30.52 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.41 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. Target has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.300- EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 7.500-8.500 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Target Corporation will post 8.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 13th will be paid a dividend of $1.14 per share. This represents a $4.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 13th. Target's payout ratio is currently 56.09%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 2,053 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.19, for a total transaction of $240,591.07. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 12,143 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,423,038.17. This represents a 14.46% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Target 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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