Cerity Partners LLC Grows Stock Position in Target Corporation $TGT

Cerity Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) by 42.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 196,949 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 58,412 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Target were worth $19,429,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Target by 14.7% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 51,444,338 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,074,984,000 after purchasing an additional 6,607,982 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Target by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 16,247,590 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,602,825,000 after buying an additional 277,176 shares during the last quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC purchased a new position in Target during the second quarter worth $595,839,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Target in the second quarter worth $578,009,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Target by 7.7% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,194,231 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $542,020,000 after acquiring an additional 370,967 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Target Stock Performance

Target stock opened at $93.68 on Wednesday. Target Corporation has a 52 week low of $83.44 and a 52 week high of $145.08. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The stock has a market cap of $42.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 10.13 and a beta of 1.13. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $90.61 and a 200-day moving average of $95.35.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.71 by $0.07. Target had a net margin of 3.58% and a return on equity of 22.74%. The business had revenue of $25.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.44 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.85 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Target has set its FY 2025 guidance at 7.000-8.000 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Target Corporation will post 8.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Target Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 12th were given a dividend of $1.14 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 12th. This is a positive change from Target’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.12. This represents a $4.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.9%. Target’s dividend payout ratio is 55.34%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on TGT. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $110.00 price objective on shares of Target in a research report on Friday, November 14th. Argus decreased their price target on Target from $135.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 1st. Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of Target from $94.00 to $88.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Target in a report on Monday, November 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on Target from $120.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $102.62.

Target Profile

Target Corporation operates as a general merchandise retailer in the United States. The company offers apparel for women, men, boys, girls, toddlers, and infants and newborns, as well as jewelry, accessories, and shoes; and beauty and personal care, baby gear, cleaning, paper products, and pet supplies.