Private Advisor Group LLC Acquires 4,961 Shares of The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX)

Private Advisor Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX) by 6.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 81,864 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,961 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in TJX Companies were worth $7,680,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of TJX. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in 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 buying an additional 392,783 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of TJX Companies by 13.1% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 52,008,484 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock valued at $4,622,514,000 after purchasing an additional 6,036,764 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley boosted its position in shares of TJX Companies by 1.5% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 24,752,978 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock valued at $2,200,045,000 after purchasing an additional 371,163 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in TJX Companies by 2.3% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 13,734,141 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock worth $1,220,690,000 after purchasing an additional 313,530 shares during the period. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC raised its holdings in TJX Companies by 0.9% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 9,054,237 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock worth $804,741,000 after purchasing an additional 83,643 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.09% of the company’s stock.

TJX Companies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE TJX traded down $0.23 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $97.69. 161,203 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,036,535. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 1.21. The TJX Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $75.65 and a one year high of $102.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $110.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.36, a PEG ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.87. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $96.86 and a two-hundred day moving average of $94.23.

TJX Companies (NYSE:TJX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The apparel and home fashions retailer reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $16.41 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.20 billion. TJX Companies had a return on equity of 64.18% and a net margin of 8.25%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.89 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that The TJX Companies, Inc. will post 4.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

TJX Companies declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, February 28th that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the apparel and home fashions retailer to buy up to 2.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

TJX Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be given a dividend of $0.375 per share. This is an increase from TJX Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.54%. TJX Companies’s payout ratio is presently 34.46%.

Insider Transactions at TJX Companies

In other news, CEO Ernie Herrman sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.98, for a total value of $1,979,600.00. Following the transaction, 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CEO Ernie Herrman sold 20,000 shares of TJX Companies 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 515,801 shares in the company, valued at approximately $51,053,982.98. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Louise Greenlees sold 2,694 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.83, for a total value of $266,248.02. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now 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 currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of TJX Companies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $100.00 to $110.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $105.00 price target on shares of TJX Companies in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. UBS Group raised TJX Companies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $104.00 to $132.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on TJX Companies from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic downgraded TJX Companies from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $100.00 price target for the company. in a report on Monday, February 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, TJX Companies has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $104.29.

About TJX Companies

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.