Equitable Holdings Inc. Sells 8,134 Shares of Target Corporation $TGT

Equitable Holdings Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) by 34.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,723 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 8,134 shares during the period. Equitable Holdings Inc.’s holdings in Target were worth $2,054,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Target during the second quarter valued at about $5,054,604,000. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Target by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 37,772,533 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,692,265,000 after buying an additional 124,468 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Target by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 17,065,926 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,668,194,000 after buying an additional 561,898 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in shares of Target in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $831,466,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of Target by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 6,194,448 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $605,507,000 after acquiring an additional 142,937 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Target Stock Performance

Shares of Target stock opened at $163.14 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $144.21 and a 200 day moving average price of $129.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $74.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.94, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. Target Corporation has a 52 week low of $83.44 and a 52 week high of $170.75.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 19th. The retailer reported $4.11 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $26.54 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $26.13 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.05 EPS. Target’s revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Target has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.900-10.900 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Target Corporation will post 8.84 EPS for the current year.

Target Increases Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 12,266 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,005,613.66. This represents a 7.02% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Melissa K. Kremer sold 15,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.96, for a total value of $2,634,380.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 56,981 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,684,490.76. This trade represents a 21.38% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Target from $161.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Target from $140.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Target from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 20th. Freedom Capital downgraded Target from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, Evercore set a $170.00 price objective on Target in a research report on Thursday, August 20th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eighteen have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $159.52.

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.