VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al Takes $31.23 Million Position in Target Corporation $TGT

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al purchased a new position in Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm purchased 239,100 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $31,229,000.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Target by 4.1% during the second quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,747 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $228,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Wynn Capital LLC raised its stake in Target by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Wynn Capital LLC now owns 8,455 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,104,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC raised its stake in Target by 16.0% in the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 580 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $70,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC lifted its holdings in Target by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC now owns 2,474 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $300,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of Target by 3.4% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 2,478 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $324,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Zacks Research lowered shares of Target from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Freedom Capital lowered shares of Target from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Target from $148.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 20th. Argus set a $150.00 price target on Target in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price target on Target from $140.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eighteen have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $159.52.

Target Trading Down 0.2%

NYSE TGT opened at $164.15 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $74.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.05, a P/E/G ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.99. Target Corporation has a 12 month low of $83.44 and a 12 month high of $170.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.36. The company has a 50-day moving average of $147.45 and a 200-day moving average of $132.02.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 19th. The retailer reported $4.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.35 by $1.76. Target had a net margin of 4.08% and a return on equity of 23.23%. The business had revenue of $26.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $26.13 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.05 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. Target has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.900-10.900 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Target Corporation will post 8.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Target Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 12th were paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. This is an increase from Target’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.14. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 12th. Target’s payout ratio is 48.18%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Melissa K. Kremer sold 15,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.96, for a total transaction of $2,634,380.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 56,981 shares in the company, valued at $9,684,490.76. This represents a 21.38% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Matthew A. Liegel sold 926 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.51, for a total value of $151,410.26. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 12,266 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,005,613.66. The trade was a 7.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

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.