Target Corporation $TGT Shares Sold by Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lowered its holdings in Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) by 38.3% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,180,442 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 732,521 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund’s holdings in Target were worth $143,070,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Target by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 58,212,397 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,690,262,000 after purchasing an additional 286,499 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Target by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 37,772,533 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,692,265,000 after buying an additional 124,468 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Target by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 17,065,926 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,668,194,000 after buying an additional 561,898 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of Target by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 6,194,448 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $605,507,000 after buying an additional 142,937 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Target during the fourth quarter worth approximately $587,903,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on TGT shares. Barclays reaffirmed an “underweight” rating on shares of Target in a report on Monday, June 1st. Telsey Advisory Group raised their price objective on shares of Target from $148.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Argus set a $150.00 target price on shares of Target in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Target from $117.00 to $133.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Target in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. One investment 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 issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $132.15.

Insider Buying and Selling at Target

In related news, insider Cara A. Sylvester sold 10,000 shares of the 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 sale, the insider 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 through this hyperlink. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Target Stock Performance

Shares of TGT opened at $136.85 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $130.97 and its 200 day moving average price is $121.80. Target Corporation has a 12-month low of $83.44 and a 12-month high of $144.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $62.16 billion, a PE ratio of 18.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.30.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 20th. The retailer reported $1.71 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $24.66 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.30 earnings per share. The firm’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. Equities research analysts forecast that Target Corporation will post 8.35 EPS for the current year.

Target Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors 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 dividend yield of 3.4%. This is a boost from Target’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.14. Target’s payout ratio is currently 61.29%.

Target 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.