Target Corporation $TGT Shares Sold by Banque Cantonale Vaudoise

Key Points

• Banque Cantonale Vaudoise cut its Target stake by 35.5% in the first quarter, selling 14,396 shares and leaving it with 26,207 shares valued at about $3.18 million.
• 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% from a year earlier.
• The retailer also raised its quarterly dividend to $1.16 per share, while analysts now have a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $129, below the stock’s recent trading level.

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise decreased its holdings in Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT - Free Report) by 35.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 26,207 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 14,396 shares during the quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise's holdings in Target were worth $3,176,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Target by 10.9% in the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,267,577 shares of the retailer's stock worth $113,702,000 after buying an additional 124,371 shares in the last quarter. Winning Points Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Target in the 4th quarter valued at about $611,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in Target by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 6,194,448 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $605,507,000 after acquiring an additional 142,937 shares in the last quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC increased its holdings in Target by 15.4% during the 3rd quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC now owns 342,487 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $30,721,000 after acquiring an additional 45,803 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mather Group LLC. raised its position in Target by 7.5% during the fourth quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 155,222 shares of the retailer's stock worth $15,173,000 after acquiring an additional 10,839 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.73% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

TGT has been the topic of several recent research reports. Evercore set a $130.00 price target on shares of Target in a report on Monday, May 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on Target from $132.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Citigroup upped their target price on Target from $117.00 to $133.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Oppenheimer raised their price target on Target from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Argus set a $150.00 price target on Target in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $129.00.

Target Stock Performance

Shares of TGT opened at $139.65 on Friday. Target Corporation has a 1 year low of $83.44 and a 1 year high of $142.82. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $127.65 and its 200 day simple moving average is $116.43. The company has a market capitalization of $63.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.45, a PEG ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.93.

Target (NYSE:TGT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 20th. The retailer reported $1.71 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.24. Target had a return on equity of 22.92% and a net margin of 3.24%.The firm had revenue of $25.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $24.66 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.30 earnings per share. The business's quarterly 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. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Target Corporation will post 8.35 EPS for the current year.

Target Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 12th will be given a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. This is a boost from Target's previous quarterly dividend of $1.14. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 12th. Target's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 60.24%.

Insider Transactions at Target

In other Target news, insider Cara A. Sylvester sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.89, for a total transaction of $1,258,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 45,930 shares in the company, valued at $5,782,127.70. This represents a 17.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

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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