Mufg Securities Americas Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in Target Corporation $TGT

Mufg Securities Americas Inc. grew its stake in shares of Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) by 24.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,069 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 1,958 shares during the period. Mufg Securities Americas Inc.’s holdings in Target were worth $993,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in TGT. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Target by 14.7% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 51,444,338 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,074,984,000 after acquiring an additional 6,607,982 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings 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 acquired a new position in shares of Target in the 2nd quarter valued at about $595,839,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Target by 35.5% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 5,370,062 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $560,420,000 after purchasing an additional 1,406,653 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Target by 7.7% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,194,231 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $542,020,000 after purchasing an additional 370,967 shares during the period. 79.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Target Price Performance

Shares of TGT opened at $87.51 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $90.13 and a 200-day moving average of $95.90. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. Target Corporation has a 52 week low of $83.44 and a 52 week high of $145.08. The firm has a market cap of $39.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.20, a PEG ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.19.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.71 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $25.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.44 billion. Target had a net margin of 3.72% and a return on equity of 23.43%. Target’s quarterly revenue was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.85 earnings per share. Target has set its FY 2025 guidance at 7.000-8.000 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Target Corporation will post 8.69 EPS for the current year.

Target Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 12th will be issued a $1.14 dividend. This is a boost from Target’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.12. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 12th. This represents a $4.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.2%. Target’s dividend payout ratio is 55.34%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on TGT. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price target on shares of Target from $87.00 to $80.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Cowen reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Target in a research note on Monday, November 10th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 price target on shares of Target in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on Target from $100.00 to $92.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price objective on Target from $135.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $102.97.

Target 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.