The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Sells 13,525 Shares of Target Corporation $TGT

Key Points

• Manulife reduced its Target stake by 5%, selling 13,525 shares and retaining 256,809 shares worth approximately $31.1 million. Institutional investors collectively own 79.73% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating on Target, with an average price target of $133.48, despite Wolfe Research upgrading the stock to “Outperform” with a $162 target.
• Target reported quarterly earnings of $1.71 per share, beating estimates, while revenue rose 6.7% year over year to $25.44 billion. The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $1.16 per share, providing a 3.2% annualized yield.

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lowered its holdings in shares of Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT - Free Report) by 5.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 256,809 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 13,525 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned approximately 0.06% of Target worth $31,125,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. WFA of San Diego LLC bought a new position in shares of Target during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Jessup Wealth Management Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Target during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Target in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Target during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, MidFirst Bank acquired a new position in shares of Target during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

TGT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Target from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "hold" rating and issued a $123.00 price target on shares of Target in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Piper Sandler reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Target in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Target from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $162.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Target in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $133.48.

Target Price Performance

Shares of TGT opened at $144.55 on Friday. The business's fifty day moving average is $132.87 and its 200 day moving average is $123.18. Target Corporation has a 12-month low of $83.44 and a 12-month high of $147.77. 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 stock has a market cap of $65.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.98.

Target (NYSE:TGT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 20th. The retailer reported $1.71 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.47 by $0.24. Target had a net margin of 3.24% and a return on equity of 22.92%. The business had revenue of $25.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $24.66 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.30 EPS. Target's quarterly revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. Target has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.500-8.500 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Target Corporation will post 8.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Target Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 12th will be given a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 12th. This is a boost from Target's previous quarterly dividend of $1.14. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. Target's payout ratio is presently 60.24%.

Insider Activity at Target

In related news, insider Cara A. Sylvester sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider owned 45,930 shares in the company, valued at $5,782,127.70. This represents a 17.88% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by 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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