Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Acquires 459 Shares of Target Corporation $TGT

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System raised its holdings in Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) by 2.1% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 22,092 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 459 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Target were worth $2,179,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Target by 407.8% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 15,970,414 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,666,672,000 after purchasing an additional 12,825,586 shares during the period. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC bought a new stake in shares of Target during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $595,839,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Target by 35.5% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 5,370,062 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $560,420,000 after acquiring an additional 1,406,653 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Target by 7.7% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,194,231 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $542,020,000 after acquiring an additional 370,967 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Target by 6.0% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 4,028,486 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $420,413,000 after acquiring an additional 229,670 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.73% of the company’s stock.

Target Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:TGT opened at $85.79 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $38.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.00, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.32. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $94.48 and a 200 day simple moving average of $96.95. Target Corporation has a one year low of $85.36 and a one year high of $161.50.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 20th. The retailer reported $2.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.04 by $0.01. Target had a net margin of 3.72% and a return on equity of 23.43%. The firm had revenue of $24.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $24.84 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.57 EPS. The company’s revenue was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. Target has set its FY 2025 guidance at 7.000-9.000 EPS. Research analysts predict that Target Corporation will post 8.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Target Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 12th will be given a $1.14 dividend. This is an increase from Target’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.12. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 12th. This represents a $4.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.3%. Target’s dividend payout ratio is currently 53.15%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 price target on shares of Target in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Barclays reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and set a $91.00 price target on shares of Target in a report on Monday, July 21st. Bank of America reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $93.00 price target (down previously from $105.00) on shares of Target in a report on Friday, August 15th. Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of Target from $105.00 to $103.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Target in a research note on Thursday, September 18th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $80.00 price objective for the company. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twenty-four have assigned a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Target currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $109.65.

Target Company 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.