Insider Selling: Target (NYSE:TGT) CAO Sells 926 Shares of Stock

Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) CAO Matthew Liegel sold 926 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.51, for a total transaction of $151,410.26. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 12,266 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,005,613.66. The trade was a 7.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Target Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:TGT traded up $4.52 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $169.96. 6,409,823 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,456,487. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $141.55 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $128.55. The company has a market cap of $77.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.99. 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 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.35 by $1.76. The business had revenue of $26.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $26.13 billion. Target had a net margin of 4.08% and a return on equity of 23.23%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.05 earnings per share. Target has set its FY 2026 guidance at 9.900-10.900 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Target Corporation will post 8.84 EPS for the current fiscal 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 given a dividend of $1.16 per share. This is a boost from Target’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.14. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 12th. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. Target’s payout ratio is currently 48.18%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in Target by 4.1% in the 2nd quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,747 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $228,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Wynn Capital LLC lifted its stake in Target by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Wynn Capital LLC now owns 8,455 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,104,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC boosted its position in Target by 16.0% during the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 580 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $70,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC boosted its position in Target by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC now owns 2,474 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $300,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in shares of Target by 3.4% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 2,478 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $324,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. 79.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Target in a report on Thursday. KeyCorp reiterated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Target in a research report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Target in a research note on Friday, July 31st. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on Target from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Target from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $159.52.

About Target

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.