Wills Financial Group LLC Invests $972,000 in Target Corporation $TGT

Wills Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 8,004 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $972,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of TGT. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in Target by 101.3% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,080 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $822,000 after acquiring an additional 3,059 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP lifted its stake in shares of Target by 39.9% in the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 38,712 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,040,000 after purchasing an additional 11,047 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Target by 22.8% during the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 69,660 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $6,872,000 after purchasing an additional 12,948 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. grew its holdings in shares of Target by 8.0% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 190,860 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $18,832,000 after purchasing an additional 14,195 shares during the period. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina grew its holdings in shares of Target by 11.0% during the 2nd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 272,787 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $26,910,000 after purchasing an additional 27,063 shares during the period. 79.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Target from $117.00 to $133.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Target from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Target in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Target from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, KeyCorp reaffirmed a “sector weight” rating on shares of Target in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $132.15.

Insider Activity at Target

In other Target news, insider Cara A. Sylvester sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.89, for a total value of $1,258,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 45,930 shares in the company, valued at $5,782,127.70. The trade was a 17.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Target Stock Down 2.5%

Shares of NYSE:TGT opened at $134.52 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $61.10 billion, a PE ratio of 17.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.98. Target Corporation has a 1 year low of $83.44 and a 1 year high of $144.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.30. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $130.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $121.69.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 20th. The retailer reported $1.71 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.24. The business had revenue of $25.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $24.66 billion. Target had a net margin of 3.24% and a return on equity of 22.92%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.30 earnings per share. Target has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.500-8.500 EPS. Analysts predict that Target Corporation will post 8.35 EPS for the current year.

Target Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 12th will be given a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 12th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. This is a boost from Target’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.14. Target’s dividend payout ratio is 60.24%.

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.