State Street Corp Acquires 124,468 Shares of Target Corporation $TGT

Key Points

• State Street Corp increased its Target stake by 124,468 shares in the fourth quarter, bringing its total holdings to 37.8 million shares valued at about $3.69 billion.
• Target reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $1.71 versus $1.47 expected and revenue of $25.44 billion, up 6.7% year over year. The company also raised its FY2026 EPS guidance to 7.5-8.5.
• Target boosted its quarterly dividend to $1.16 per share from $1.14, implying an annualized yield of about 3.4%. Meanwhile, analysts remain mixed, with a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $126.11.

State Street Corp grew its holdings in Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT - Free Report) by 0.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 37,772,533 shares of the retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 124,468 shares during the quarter. State Street Corp owned 8.34% of Target worth $3,692,265,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Target by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 58,212,397 shares of the retailer's stock worth $5,690,262,000 after acquiring an additional 286,499 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Target by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 6,194,448 shares of the retailer's stock worth $605,507,000 after acquiring an additional 142,937 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Target in the fourth quarter worth about $587,903,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Target by 2.5% in the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,051,151 shares of the retailer's stock worth $453,050,000 after acquiring an additional 122,300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors increased its holdings in shares of Target by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 4,606,090 shares of the retailer's stock worth $450,245,000 after acquiring an additional 19,241 shares in the last quarter. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 stock was sold at an average price of $117.19, for a total value of $240,591.07. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 12,143 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,423,038.17. This trade represents a 14.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Cara A. Sylvester sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.89, for a total value of $1,258,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 45,930 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,782,127.70. The trade was a 17.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on TGT. Evercore set a $130.00 price target on Target in a report on Monday, May 18th. BNP Paribas Exane increased their price target on Target from $63.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Barclays reiterated an "underweight" rating on shares of Target in a report on Monday, June 1st. Guggenheim increased their price objective on Target from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Target from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nineteen have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Target currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $126.11.

Target Trading Up 2.0%

Shares of Target stock opened at $135.29 on Friday. Target Corporation has a 12-month low of $83.44 and a 12-month high of $136.14. The stock has a market cap of $61.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The business's 50 day moving average is $125.42 and its 200-day moving average is $113.50.

Target (NYSE:TGT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 20th. The retailer reported $1.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.47 by $0.24. Target had a return on equity of 22.92% and a net margin of 3.24%.The company had revenue of $25.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $24.66 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.30 EPS. The business's revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Target has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.500-8.500 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Target Corporation will post 8.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Target Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 12th will be paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 12th. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. This is an increase from Target's previous quarterly dividend of $1.14. Target's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 60.24%.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.