Wealthfront Advisers LLC Has $12.96 Million Stock Position in Target Corporation $TGT

Key Points

• Wealthfront Advisers LLC boosted its Target stake by 52% in the first quarter, ending with 106,893 shares valued at about $12.96 million.
• Target beat quarterly expectations, reporting EPS of $1.71 versus $1.47 expected and revenue of $25.44 billion, while also raising its full-year guidance to 7.50–8.50 EPS.
• The retailer announced a higher quarterly dividend of $1.16 per share, and analysts currently have a consensus rating of Hold with an average price target of $131.96.

Wealthfront Advisers LLC raised its position in Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT - Free Report) by 52.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 106,893 shares of the retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 36,578 shares during the quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC's holdings in Target were worth $12,955,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Target by 16.0% in the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 580 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $70,000 after buying an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc. raised its position in Target by 3.1% during the first quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc. now owns 2,951 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $358,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Crawford Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its stake in Target by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Crawford Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 20,163 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,971,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Valtinson Bruner Financial Planning LLC lifted its stake in Target by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Valtinson Bruner Financial Planning LLC now owns 3,604 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $352,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Auxano Advisors LLC grew its position in Target by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Auxano Advisors LLC now owns 3,193 shares of the retailer's stock worth $312,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. 79.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Target Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of TGT stock opened at $139.98 on Friday. Target Corporation has a 12 month low of $83.44 and a 12 month high of $142.82. The company has a market cap of $63.58 billion, a PE ratio of 18.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.98. 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 $129.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $120.29.

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

Target Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 12th. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. This is a positive change from Target's previous quarterly dividend of $1.14. Target's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 60.24%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

TGT has been the topic of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Target from $120.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Target from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Target from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, June 6th. Freedom Capital downgraded shares of Target from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, DA Davidson raised their target price on Target from $140.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $131.96.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 shares were 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.13% of the stock is currently 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.

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.