Vanguard Group Inc. Boosts Stake in Target Corporation $TGT

Key Points

• Vanguard increased its stake in Target by 0.5% in Q4 to 58,212,397 shares—about 12.86% ownership valued at approximately $5.69 billion.
• Dividend: Target declared a $1.14 quarterly dividend ($4.56 annualized) with an ex‑dividend/record date of May 13 and payment on June 1, implying a yield of about 3.5%.
• Earnings & guidance: Target beat Q4 EPS estimates ($2.44 vs. $2.16) despite revenue declining 1.5% YoY, and set Q1 2026 guidance around ~1.30 EPS and FY2026 at 7.50–8.50 EPS (analysts average ~8.02 EPS).

Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT - Free Report) by 0.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 58,212,397 shares of the retailer's stock after buying an additional 286,499 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 12.86% of Target worth $5,690,262,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in TGT. WFA of San Diego LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Target in the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates raised its stake in shares of Target by 192.0% in the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 292 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Target in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Tripletail Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Target in the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Key Financial Inc raised its stake in shares of Target by 77.4% in the 3rd quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 346 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. 79.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Target Stock Performance

TGT opened at $129.66 on Tuesday. Target Corporation has a twelve month low of $83.44 and a twelve month high of $133.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The stock has a market cap of $58.72 billion, a PE ratio of 15.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.39 and a beta of 1.03. The business's 50 day moving average is $119.81 and its 200-day moving average is $105.81.

Target (NYSE:TGT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 3rd. The retailer reported $2.44 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.28. Target had a net margin of 3.54% and a return on equity of 22.25%. The business had revenue of $30.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $30.52 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.41 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter 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. On average, analysts predict that Target Corporation will post 8.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 13th will be given a $1.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 13th. This represents a $4.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. Target's payout ratio is 56.09%.

Insider Transactions at Target

In other Target news, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 2,053 shares of Target stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.19, for a total value of $240,591.07. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 12,143 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,423,038.17. The trade was a 14.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on TGT. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Target from an "underperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $91.00 to $116.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Barclays upped their price objective on Target from $91.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on Target from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Mizuho set a $120.00 price objective on Target in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Target from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $117.39.

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.

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.