VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al Invests $16.50 Million in Target Corporation $TGT

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al purchased a new position in Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 167,300 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $16,504,000.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in Target by 101.3% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,080 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $822,000 after acquiring an additional 3,059 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in shares of Target by 3.1% during the 1st quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 5,136 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $536,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares during the period. PFG Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Target by 19.7% in the 1st quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 12,558 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,311,000 after purchasing an additional 2,067 shares in the last quarter. Praxis Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Target by 16.5% in the 1st quarter. Praxis Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,950 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $934,000 after purchasing an additional 1,270 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Intact Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Target by 101.1% in the 1st quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. now owns 36,598 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,819,000 after purchasing an additional 18,400 shares in the last quarter. 79.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Target Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:TGT opened at $90.79 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.32. Target Corporation has a 1-year low of $85.36 and a 1-year high of $158.42. The company has a market capitalization of $41.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.18. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $93.07 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $96.37.

Target (NYSE:TGT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 20th. The retailer reported $2.05 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $24.99 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $24.84 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.57 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. Target has set its FY 2025 guidance at 7.000-9.000 EPS. Research analysts expect that Target Corporation will post 8.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Target Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 12th will be issued a $1.14 dividend. This represents a $4.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.0%. This is a boost from Target’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.12. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 12th. Target’s payout ratio is presently 53.15%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on TGT. Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Target in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. BTIG Research began coverage on Target in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Bank of America restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $93.00 price objective (down from $105.00) on shares of Target in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Target from $102.00 to $83.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Target from $104.00 to $107.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twenty-five have issued a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Target currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $109.00.

About Target

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.