Target Stock Significantly Outpaces Magnificent Seven in 2026 with Triple Dividend Yield

Retail stock Target (NYSE:TGT) significantly outperformed the prominent technology stocks of the so-called Magnificent Seven in 2026. While investors focused on Apple, Microsoft and other tech giants, the Minneapolis-based retailer delivered extraordinary performance – and simultaneously offers a dividend yield many times higher than that of the Magnificent Seven.

Target beats Apple by 36 percentage points

By the end of September 2026, Target shares had gained 61 percent since the start of the year, as The Motley Fool reported on 30 September 2026. This meant Target even outperformed Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), the best performer among the Magnificent Seven. Apple rose 25 percent in the same period and was the only Magnificent Seven stock to significantly outpace the S&P 500 in 2026.

The difference between the two stocks amounts to 36 percentage points. Target thus achieved 2.44 times Apple's performance and quadrupled the broad market's return. On 8 October 2026, Target stock stood at $154.76.

Dividend yield of nearly three percent

Target offers investors not only share price gains, but also regular payouts. The dividend yield stood at nearly three percent by the end of September 2026, as The Motley Fool reported on 28 September 2026. The valuation level was at 15 times estimated earnings at the same time.

In fiscal year 2026, Target paid a dividend of $4.54 per share, according to Stocksguide.com. At a share price of $154.76 (as of 8 October 2026), this resulted in a yield of 2.93 percent. In March 2026, the yield had stood at 3.8 percent.

Target holds the title Dividend King – an award for companies that have increased their dividend for at least 50 consecutive years. The payout yield is significantly above the average of many other Dividend Kings, as The Motley Fool highlighted on 12 March 2026.

Magnificent Seven with dividend yield of 0.26 percent

The seven major technology stocks Apple, Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon, Meta, Nvidia and Tesla offer significantly lower payouts. Combined, the Magnificent Seven achieved a dividend yield of just 0.26 percent over the past twelve months, according to data from PortfoliosLab.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) shows by far the highest dividend yield among the Magnificent Seven. It stood at 0.72 percent and thus below that of the S&P 500 index, as Yahoo Finance reported on 11 August 2026.

Leadership change and three years of revenue decline ended

Target had recorded declining comparable sales in the three years prior to 2026. In February 2026, Michael Fiddelke took over as Chief Executive Officer. Fiddelke had previously worked in the company for two decades.

Under new leadership, the retailer turned the tide: Target ended the three-year streak of falling sales, as The Motley Fool explained on 30 September 2026.

Valuation and market assessment

On 19 October 2026, the S&P 500 stood at 7,690.73 points (as of 2:00 a.m. CEST), the NASDAQ Composite was trading at 26,430.89 points. Since the previous closing, the indices rose 0.41 percent and 1.11 percent respectively.

The Motley Fool called Target one of the most interesting stocks on 19 October 2026 – despite the share price increase of over 60 percent in the current year. The low valuation and high dividend made the stock a much-watched buy candidate, while enthusiasm for Magnificent Seven stocks had recently waned.

The company remains rated as a top buy, as The Motley Fool wrote on 28 September 2026. The development showed that heavy concentration in technology stocks could cost investors more than they gained in familiarity – namely in the form of foregone returns from alternatives outside the tech sector.