Wedbush Securities Inc. Sells 1,364 Shares of Target Corporation $TGT

Wedbush Securities Inc. decreased its position in Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) by 6.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 19,094 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 1,364 shares during the quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc.’s holdings in Target were worth $1,884,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Target by 407.8% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 15,970,414 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,666,672,000 after purchasing an additional 12,825,586 shares during the period. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC purchased a new stake in Target during the second quarter valued at approximately $595,839,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in Target by 35.5% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 5,370,062 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $560,420,000 after acquiring an additional 1,406,653 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Target by 7.7% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,194,231 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $542,020,000 after acquiring an additional 370,967 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its stake in shares of Target by 6.0% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 4,028,486 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $420,413,000 after acquiring an additional 229,670 shares during the last quarter. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Target Trading Up 2.3%

Shares of TGT stock opened at $91.22 on Friday. Target Corporation has a 1 year low of $85.36 and a 1 year high of $158.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.32. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $90.77 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $96.36. The company has a market cap of $41.45 billion, a PE ratio of 10.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.19.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 20th. The retailer reported $2.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.04 by $0.01. Target had a net margin of 3.72% and a return on equity of 23.43%. The firm had revenue of $24.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $24.84 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.57 EPS. The business’s revenue was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. Target has set its FY 2025 guidance at 7.000-9.000 EPS. Research analysts predict that Target Corporation will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Target Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 12th will be issued a dividend of $1.14 per share. This is an increase from Target’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.12. This represents a $4.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.0%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 12th. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 53.15%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on TGT. Bank of America reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $93.00 target price (down from $105.00) on shares of Target in a report on Friday, August 15th. Wolfe Research started coverage on Target in a research report on Thursday, September 18th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $80.00 price target for the company. Wall Street Zen raised Target from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, August 17th. DA Davidson cut their price objective on Target from $115.00 to $108.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 13th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Target from $94.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twenty-four have assigned a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $109.00.

Target Company Profile

Target Corporation operates as a general merchandise retailer in the United States. The company offers apparel for women, men, boys, girls, toddlers, and infants and newborns, as well as jewelry, accessories, and shoes; and beauty and personal care, baby gear, cleaning, paper products, and pet supplies.