Ruffer LLP Purchases New Holdings in Target Corporation $TGT

Key Points

• Ruffer LLP purchased a new stake of 34,456 shares in Target (NYSE:TGT) during Q4, valued at about $3.37 million.
• Institutional ownership stands at 79.73% with major managers (Vanguard, State Street, Dimensional, Invesco, Legal & General) increasing positions, while analysts' consensus is a Hold with a $117.39 price target.
• Target beat Q4 EPS estimates ($2.44 vs. $2.16) despite a 1.5% revenue decline, issued FY2026 guidance of roughly $7.50–$8.50 EPS, and declared a quarterly dividend of $1.14 (annualized $4.56, ~3.4% yield).

Ruffer LLP purchased a new stake in Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 34,456 shares of the retailer's stock, valued at approximately $3,373,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Target by 12.6% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 57,925,898 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $5,195,953,000 after buying an additional 6,481,560 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Target by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 37,648,065 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $3,377,031,000 after buying an additional 911,964 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Target by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,051,151 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $453,050,000 after buying an additional 122,300 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in Target by 10.2% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,910,163 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $350,742,000 after buying an additional 360,781 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc lifted its stake in Target by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,309,746 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $296,884,000 after buying an additional 25,989 shares in the last quarter. 79.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on TGT shares. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Target from an "underperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $91.00 to $116.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Target from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Telsey Advisory Group raised shares of Target from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $110.00 to $145.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Target in a research note on Friday, February 27th. They issued an "underperform" rating and a $103.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Evercore set a $125.00 target price on shares of Target in a research note on Tuesday. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $117.39.

Target Stock Up 1.6%

Shares of NYSE TGT opened at $132.32 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $118.59 and a 200-day simple moving average of $104.67. The company has a market capitalization of $59.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.28, a P/E/G ratio of 5.42 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.36. Target Corporation has a 1 year low of $83.44 and a 1 year high of $133.10.

Target (NYSE:TGT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 3rd. The retailer reported $2.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.28. The business had revenue of $30.45 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $30.52 billion. Target had a net margin of 3.54% and a return on equity of 22.25%. The business's revenue was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.41 EPS. Target has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.300- EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 7.500-8.500 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Target Corporation will post 8.04 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. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 13th will be issued a dividend of $1.14 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 13th. This represents a $4.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. Target's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 56.09%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 2,053 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 in the company, valued at $1,423,038.17. This trade represents a 14.46% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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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