Equitable Holdings Inc. Sells 8,134 Shares of Target Corporation $TGT

Equitable Holdings Inc. cut its holdings in Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) by 34.1% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,723 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 8,134 shares during the period. Equitable Holdings Inc.’s holdings in Target were worth $2,054,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Winning Points Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Target during the 4th quarter worth about $611,000. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in Target by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 6,194,448 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $605,507,000 after purchasing an additional 142,937 shares during the last quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Target by 41.8% in the first quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 111,001 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $13,453,000 after purchasing an additional 32,746 shares during the last quarter. Munich Reinsurance Co Stock Corp in Munich purchased a new position in shares of Target during the first quarter valued at approximately $6,686,000. Finally, United Super Pty Ltd in its capacity as Trustee for the Construction & Building Unions Superannuation Fund purchased a new position in shares of Target during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,470,000. Institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 926 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.51, for a total value of $151,410.26. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 12,266 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,005,613.66. This represents a 7.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Melissa K. Kremer sold 15,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.96, for a total transaction of $2,634,380.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 56,981 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,684,490.76. The trade was a 21.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on TGT shares. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on Target from $166.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 20th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Target in a report on Thursday, August 20th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Target from $161.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Argus set a $150.00 target price on Target in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Target from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eighteen have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $159.52.

Target Stock Performance

Target stock opened at $163.14 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.99. The company has a market capitalization of $74.10 billion, a PE ratio of 16.94, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $144.21 and a 200-day moving average price of $129.86. Target Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $83.44 and a fifty-two week high of $170.75.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 19th. The retailer reported $4.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.35 by $1.76. The company had revenue of $26.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $26.13 billion. Target had a return on equity of 23.23% and a net margin of 4.08%.Target’s revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.05 earnings per share. Target has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.900-10.900 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Target Corporation will post 8.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Target Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 12th. This is a positive change from Target’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.14. Target’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.18%.

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.