Retail investors have been able to buy stock in Target (TGT) for nearly 60 years. The company went public in 1967 — it was the Dayton Corporation then, and Target was just one of five divisions. A lot has changed since then, and now there are almost 2,000 locations across the United States. Along the way, the stock price has grown exponentially. One share purchased for $34 in the IPO would now be 96 shares worth over $15,000 — not too shabby.
Most of today’s investors didn’t have the opportunity to participate in Target’s IPO. Still, those who bought Target stock over the years have enjoyed good returns and a steadily growing dividend. In fact, Target is a Dividend Aristocrat, a title given to stocks that have consistently not just paid dividends but increased them every year for at least 25 years.
What Would $1,000 Be Worth Today?
So, just how much would you have today if you had invested $1,000 in Berkshire Hathaway stock 10 years ago? In May of 2014, your $1,000 initial investment would have purchased 16.13 shares of TGT. Assuming you reinvested all of the dividends paid out over the last 10 years, you would have 21.3 shares worth $3,367.39 as of the market close on May 2nd – a 236.74% return on investment.
That sounds pretty good, but investing in single stocks can be risky. What if you had just passively invested in a widely diversified index over the same time frame? The ten-year return for the S&P 500, the most common index used by passive investors, was about 180% over the same time frame. That means buying Target would have been a smart move – it beat the market even though it’s currently down quite a bit from its highs in 2021.
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