Welch Group LLC Purchases 18,110 Shares of Target Corporation $TGT

Key Points

• Welch Group LLC increased its Target stake by 29.4% in the first quarter, buying 18,110 additional shares and bringing its total holdings to 79,640 shares worth about $9.65 million.
• Target has continued to attract mixed-but-active Wall Street attention: analysts currently rate the stock a consensus Hold, with a consensus price target of $130.64, while several firms recently raised their targets.
• The company reported better-than-expected quarterly results and also announced a higher dividend of $1.16 per share, up from $1.14, for an annualized yield of about 3.3%.

Welch Group LLC increased its position in shares of Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT - Free Report) by 29.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 79,640 shares of the retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 18,110 shares during the quarter. Welch Group LLC's holdings in Target were worth $9,652,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in Target by 101.3% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,080 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $822,000 after buying an additional 3,059 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP increased its holdings in shares of Target by 39.9% during the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 38,712 shares of the retailer's stock worth $4,040,000 after buying an additional 11,047 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Target by 22.8% in the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 69,660 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $6,872,000 after acquiring an additional 12,948 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. raised its stake in shares of Target by 8.0% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 190,860 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $18,832,000 after acquiring an additional 14,195 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina boosted its holdings in shares of Target by 11.0% in the 2nd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 272,787 shares of the retailer's stock worth $26,910,000 after acquiring an additional 27,063 shares in the last quarter. 79.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

TGT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Target in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Target from $120.00 to $129.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Argus set a $150.00 price objective on Target in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. UBS Group increased their target price on Target from $130.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their target price on Target from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Target has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $130.64.

Insider Buying and Selling at Target

In other news, insider Cara A. Sylvester sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the insider owned 45,930 shares of the company's stock, 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 link. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Target Price Performance

TGT opened at $140.23 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $63.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.00. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $128.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $116.59. Target Corporation has a one year low of $83.44 and a one year high of $142.82.

Target (NYSE:TGT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 20th. The retailer reported $1.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.24. Target had a net margin of 3.24% and a return on equity of 22.92%. The firm had revenue of $25.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $24.66 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.30 EPS. Target's 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 8.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Target Increases Dividend

The company 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 is Wednesday, August 12th. This is an increase from Target's previous quarterly dividend of $1.14. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. Target's dividend payout ratio is presently 61.29%.

About Target

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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