ABC Arbitrage SA Purchases Shares of 6,812 Target Corporation $TGT

ABC Arbitrage SA acquired a new position in shares of Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 6,812 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $611,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in TGT. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Target by 14.7% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 51,444,338 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,074,984,000 after buying an additional 6,607,982 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Target during the 2nd quarter valued at about $578,009,000. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Target by 4.3% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 36,736,101 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,624,016,000 after purchasing an additional 1,529,026 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in Target by 133.9% in the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,223,776 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $219,376,000 after purchasing an additional 1,273,129 shares during the period. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System raised 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 worth $213,616,000 after purchasing an additional 1,060,885 shares during the period. 79.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Target Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of Target stock opened at $114.53 on Thursday. 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 company’s 50-day simple moving average is $103.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $96.80. Target Corporation has a 52-week low of $83.44 and a 52-week high of $131.70. The firm has a market cap of $51.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 11.59 and a beta of 1.14.

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

Target Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 11th will be given a $1.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 11th. This represents a $4.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. Target’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 55.34%.

Key Target News

Here are the key news stories impacting Target this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Company announced a broad executive leadership reset under new CEO Michael Fiddelke designed to sharpen merchandising and operations, and it reaffirmed Q4 financial guidance — a direct signal management is prioritizing execution and growth. Target Announces Executive Leadership Changes to Accelerate Growth, Confirms Q4 Financial Guidance
• Positive Sentiment: Target promoted longtime executive Lisa Roath to head of operations — an insider appointment that reduces execution risk and signals continuity while the company pursues a sales revival. Target appoints insider Lisa Roath as operations head
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts at Jefferies called the leadership refresh “directionally positive,” saying the changes could improve execution and strategic momentum — third‑party validation that the market may view the moves as substantive. Target leadership refresh could boost execution, Jefferies says
• Positive Sentiment: Unusual options flow: investors bought ~328,752 call contracts (≈408% above average), indicating speculative bullish positioning that can amplify intraday upside and signal confidence among derivatives traders.
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage pieces and valuation checks (Zacks) are assessing whether TGT is undervalued; these analyses may influence longer‑term flows but are not immediate catalysts. Is Target (TGT) Stock Undervalued Right Now?
• Neutral Sentiment: Target is pushing marketing and assortment initiatives (largest Spring beauty assortment; NYFW event at SoHo store) — positive for brand/traffic but more of a medium‑term merchandising play than an immediate earnings catalyst. Jodie Turner-Smith, Rachel Zoe, Ciara Miller…Glow at The Spring Beauty Studio at Target SoHo during NYFW
• Negative Sentiment: Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a “market perform” rating with a $110 price target (below current levels), a reminder that some analysts remain cautious on near‑term upside and could cap momentum. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirms market perform, $110 PT
• Negative Sentiment: Macro retail data (December retail sales came in flat, missing estimates) is a sector headwind that raises questions about discretionary spend and could pressure comparable‑store trends if softness persists. Lackluster Retail Sales Data Stalls 2 Industry Giants

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on TGT. Telsey Advisory Group reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $110.00 price target on shares of Target in a research note on Wednesday. Evercore ISI set a $103.00 price target on shares of Target in a research report on Tuesday. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 price target on shares of Target in a report on Monday, October 27th. 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. Finally, Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $85.00 price target (down previously from $94.00) on shares of Target in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twenty-one have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $103.20.

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.