Optas LLC Buys 101 Shares of The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX)

Optas LLC boosted its stake in The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX) by 1.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,921 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the quarter. Optas LLC’s holdings in TJX Companies were worth $843,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in TJX. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in TJX Companies by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 99,314,635 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock worth $11,998,201,000 after acquiring an additional 578,948 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of TJX Companies by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 24,322,579 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock valued at $2,930,965,000 after purchasing an additional 464,995 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its holdings in shares of TJX Companies by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 14,647,792 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock worth $1,769,600,000 after purchasing an additional 626,739 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of TJX Companies by 15.2% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 13,985,826 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock worth $1,689,628,000 after buying an additional 1,845,225 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in TJX Companies during the fourth quarter valued at $1,670,565,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.09% of the company’s stock.

TJX Companies Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of TJX Companies stock opened at $123.75 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a current ratio of 1.19. The TJX Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $107.71 and a 52-week high of $135.85. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $127.91 and its 200-day moving average price is $124.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $138.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.90.

TJX Companies (NYSE:TJX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 21st. The apparel and home fashions retailer reported $0.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $13.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.01 billion. TJX Companies had a net margin of 8.63% and a return on equity of 61.82%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.93 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that The TJX Companies, Inc. will post 4.18 EPS for the current year.

TJX Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 4th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 14th will be paid a $0.425 dividend. This represents a $1.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.37%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 14th. TJX Companies’s payout ratio is 40.00%.

Insider Activity at TJX Companies

In other TJX Companies news, Director Amy B. Lane sold 950 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.09, for a total value of $121,685.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 22,712 shares in the company, valued at $2,909,180.08. This trade represents a 4.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

TJX has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. TD Securities upped their target price on TJX Companies from $140.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $164.00 price objective (up previously from $154.00) on shares of TJX Companies in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $147.00 target price (up from $137.00) on shares of TJX Companies in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “equal weight” rating on shares of TJX Companies in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of TJX Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, TJX Companies currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $141.53.

TJX Companies Company 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.