Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Boosts Holdings in Target Corporation $TGT

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio boosted its stake in Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) by 7.2% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 215,184 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,457 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio’s holdings in Target were worth $26,080,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Target by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 58,212,397 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,690,262,000 after acquiring an additional 286,499 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Target by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 37,772,533 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,692,265,000 after purchasing an additional 124,468 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Target by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 17,065,926 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,668,194,000 after purchasing an additional 561,898 shares during the period. 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 valued at $605,507,000 after purchasing an additional 142,937 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Target during the fourth quarter valued at $587,903,000. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Cara A. Sylvester sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 29th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,782,127.70. This represents a 17.88% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

TGT has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Target in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Target in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Target from $140.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Wolfe Research raised Target from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $162.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Finally, Freedom Capital cut Target from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Target presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $132.15.

Target Stock Up 1.8%

Target stock opened at $136.85 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $130.97 and a 200 day simple moving average of $121.80. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. Target Corporation has a 1-year low of $83.44 and a 1-year high of $144.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $62.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.98.

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

Target Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 12th will be paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 12th. This is a positive change from Target’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.14. Target’s dividend payout ratio is presently 61.29%.

Target Company 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.