Morningstar Investment Management LLC Trims Position in Target Corporation $TGT

Morningstar Investment Management LLC decreased its position in shares of Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) by 29.3% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 20,451 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 8,480 shares during the quarter. Morningstar Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Target were worth $1,999,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. WFA of San Diego LLC purchased a new position in shares of Target during the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates lifted its stake in shares of Target by 192.0% during the fourth quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 292 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 192 shares during the period. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Target during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Key Financial Inc raised its stake in Target by 77.4% during the third quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 346 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares during the period. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC raised its stake in Target by 168.9% during the fourth quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 355 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 223 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

TGT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Target in a research note on Monday, May 4th. KeyCorp reaffirmed a “sector weight” rating on shares of Target in a research note on Thursday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $123.00 price target on shares of Target in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Target from $121.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, DA Davidson increased their price target on shares of Target from $140.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Target has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $125.93.

Insider Activity at Target

In other news, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 2,053 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.19, for a total value of $240,591.07. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 12,143 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,423,038.17. This trade represents a 14.46% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Target Stock Performance

Shares of TGT stock opened at $125.62 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $122.69 and its 200-day simple moving average is $109.99. Target Corporation has a 52 week low of $83.44 and a 52 week high of $133.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The company has a market cap of $57.05 billion, a PE ratio of 16.59, a P/E/G ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 1.01.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 20th. The retailer reported $1.71 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $25.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $24.66 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.30 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Target has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.500-8.500 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Target Corporation will post 8.35 EPS for the current year.

Target Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 13th will be paid a $1.14 dividend. This represents a $4.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 13th. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 60.24%.

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.