HighPoint Advisor Group LLC Cuts Stock Position in Target Corporation $TGT

HighPoint Advisor Group LLC cut its holdings in shares of Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) by 31.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,233 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 6,183 shares during the quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in Target were worth $1,187,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Target by 14.7% in 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 during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Target in the second quarter worth $578,009,000. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Target by 4.3% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 36,736,101 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,624,016,000 after acquiring an additional 1,529,026 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its stake in Target by 133.9% during the second quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,223,776 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $219,376,000 after acquiring an additional 1,273,129 shares in the last quarter. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System increased its holdings in Target by 96.1% in the 2nd quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 2,165,396 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $213,616,000 after acquiring an additional 1,060,885 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Target Stock Up 4.2%

Shares of TGT opened at $115.48 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The business has a fifty day moving average of $101.70 and a 200 day moving average of $96.71. The company has a market cap of $52.29 billion, a PE ratio of 14.01, a P/E/G ratio of 11.35 and a beta of 1.14. Target Corporation has a 52-week low of $83.44 and a 52-week high of $135.00.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 19th. The retailer reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.44 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.85 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. Target has set its FY 2025 guidance at 7.000-8.000 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Target Corporation will post 8.69 EPS for the current year.

Target Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 11th will be given a dividend of $1.14 per share. This represents a $4.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 11th. Target’s payout ratio is 55.34%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

TGT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 price objective on shares of Target in a research report on Monday, October 27th. TD Cowen cut their price target on Target from $105.00 to $90.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 20th. Evercore upped their price objective on Target from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on Target from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $125.00 price target on shares of Target in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twenty-one have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $103.21.

Target 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.