Slow Capital Inc. Trims Stake in The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX)

Slow Capital Inc. lowered its position in The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX) by 0.7% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 43,667 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock after selling 318 shares during the period. Slow Capital Inc.’s holdings in TJX Companies were worth $4,096,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of TJX Companies by 0.4% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 95,135,688 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock worth $8,455,660,000 after purchasing an additional 392,783 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of TJX Companies by 13.1% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 52,008,484 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock worth $4,622,514,000 after purchasing an additional 6,036,764 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its holdings in shares of TJX Companies by 88.1% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 26,619,778 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock worth $2,118,935,000 after purchasing an additional 12,468,119 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of TJX Companies by 1.0% in the first quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 20,891,507 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock worth $1,632,900,000 after purchasing an additional 209,152 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of TJX Companies by 90,089.8% in the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 19,788,543 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock worth $1,575,168,000 after purchasing an additional 19,766,602 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.09% of the company’s stock.

TJX Companies Price Performance

NYSE TJX traded up $0.40 on Wednesday, hitting $93.38. The company had a trading volume of 4,063,743 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,992,108. The company has a market capitalization of $105.80 billion, a PE ratio of 24.19, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.86. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $97.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $93.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 0.64. The TJX Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $75.65 and a 12-month high of $102.84.

TJX Companies (NYSE:TJX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The apparel and home fashions retailer reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $16.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.20 billion. TJX Companies had a net margin of 8.25% and a return on equity of 64.18%. The firm’s revenue was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.89 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that The TJX Companies, Inc. will post 4.07 earnings per share for the current year.

TJX Companies announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, February 28th that permits the company to repurchase $2.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the apparel and home fashions retailer to buy up to 2.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

TJX Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 16th will be issued a $0.375 dividend. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 15th. This is a positive change from TJX Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. TJX Companies’s payout ratio is presently 34.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Ernie Herrman sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.98, for a total transaction of $1,979,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 515,801 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $51,053,982.98. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, CEO Ernie Herrman sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.98, for a total transaction of $1,979,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 515,801 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $51,053,982.98. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Louise Greenlees sold 2,694 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.83, for a total transaction of $266,248.02. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 50,273 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,968,480.59. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on TJX shares. Redburn Atlantic cut shares of TJX Companies from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $100.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Monday, February 5th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 target price on shares of TJX Companies in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of TJX Companies from $95.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of TJX Companies from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $102.19.

TJX Companies Profile

The TJX Companies, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an off-price apparel and home fashions retailer in the United States, Canada, Europe, and Australia. It operates through four segments: Marmaxx, HomeGoods, TJX Canada, and TJX International. The company sells family apparel, including footwear and accessories; home fashions, such as home basics, furniture, rugs, lighting products, giftware, soft home products, decorative accessories, tabletop, and cookware, as well as expanded pet, and gourmet food departments; jewelry and accessories; and other merchandise.