Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Buys 122,300 Shares of Target Corporation $TGT

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 5,051,151 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 122,300 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP’s holdings in Target were worth $453,050,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. WFA of San Diego LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Target in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Heartwood Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Target in the third quarter worth $27,000. Tripletail Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Target during the third quarter worth $31,000. Key Financial Inc boosted its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Finally, VSM Wealth Advisory LLC grew its holdings in shares of Target by 1,113.8% in the 2nd quarter. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 352 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 323 shares during the period. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Target Trading Down 0.6%

NYSE TGT opened at $120.03 on Thursday. Target Corporation has a 52 week low of $83.44 and a 52 week high of $126.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.94. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $109.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $98.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $54.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.76 and a beta of 1.12.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 3rd. The retailer reported $2.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $30.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $30.52 billion. Target had a net margin of 3.54% and a return on equity of 22.25%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.41 EPS. Target has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.300- EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 7.500-8.500 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Target Corporation will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Target Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 11th were given a dividend of $1.14 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 11th. This represents a $4.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.8%. Target’s payout ratio is 55.34%.

Key Target News

Here are the key news stories impacting Target this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Company unveiled a multi‑year turnaround and incremental spending plan (store refreshes, payroll/training, assortment changes, AI personalization and same‑day/digital investments) that supports a return to growth and justifies the earlier rally. Target outlines strategic plan
• Positive Sentiment: Q4 beat on EPS and margin improvement (adjusted EPS $2.44 vs. ~$2.16) plus strong free cash flow arguments (supporting dividend/buyback optionality) which drove a sizable short‑term rally. Q4 results press release
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple brokers raised price targets and issued upgrades (UBS, Oppenheimer, Guggenheim, Telsey and others), reflecting renewed investor confidence in the turnaround’s upside. Analyst reactions / price target moves
• Neutral Sentiment: Management issued FY 2026 EPS guidance above consensus (7.50–8.50 vs. ~7.33), signaling medium‑term improvement, but the company’s sales trajectory remains mixed (some categories growing, total revenue still down year‑over‑year). Guidance and sales context
• Neutral Sentiment: Firm is leaning into AI for personalization and same‑day delivery expansion — a potential multi‑quarter driver for digital sales if execution succeeds, but benefits will accrue gradually. AI personalization article
• Negative Sentiment: Q1 2026 guidance was weak (management offered a low Q1 EPS guide below Street expectations), which introduces near‑term downside risk and explains some of the intraday profit‑taking. Guidance details
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts and investors warned about execution risk — turning around categories, reworking store layouts and ramping AI are capital‑intensive and operationally complex; some firms (e.g., BofA, BNP Paribas Exane) remain cautious or retain underperform calls. Seeking Alpha critique

Analyst Ratings Changes

TGT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 price objective on shares of Target in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Guggenheim raised their price target on Target from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Target from $130.00 to $144.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Zacks Research raised Target from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Target in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twenty have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Target has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $114.90.

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.