GSA Capital Partners LLP Acquires Shares of 12,009 Target Corporation $TGT

GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new position in shares of Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 12,009 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $1,568,000.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Target during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $587,903,000. TOMS Capital Investment Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Target in the fourth quarter valued at $257,571,000. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Target by 243.8% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,870,210 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $280,563,000 after buying an additional 2,035,298 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lifted its holdings in Target by 6,639.1% in the 4th quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 1,912,963 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $186,992,000 after buying an additional 1,884,577 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP lifted its holdings in Target by 104.7% in the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 65,505 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $6,403,000 after buying an additional 1,448,146 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Target Price Performance

Shares of TGT opened at $154.52 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $70.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.41, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.96. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $138.02 and a 200-day moving average of $126.29. 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 52 week low of $83.44 and a 52 week high of $156.47.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 20th. The retailer reported $1.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.47 by $0.24. The business had revenue of $25.44 billion during 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 period in the previous year, the business earned $1.30 EPS. Target has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.500-8.500 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Target Corporation will post 8.4 EPS for the current year.

Target Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 12th will be paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 12th. This is a positive change from Target’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.14. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. Target’s payout ratio is presently 61.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Target

In other Target news, insider Cara A. Sylvester sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.89, for a total transaction of $1,258,900.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 45,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,782,127.70. This represents a 17.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

TGT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Target from $140.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Guggenheim increased their price target on Target from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $140.00 price target on shares of Target in a report on Friday. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on Target from $140.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their target price on Target from $127.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, seventeen have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Target has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $143.30.

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.