Tranquility Partners LLC Cuts Stock Position in The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX)

Tranquility Partners LLC lessened its holdings in The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX) by 5.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,311 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock after selling 960 shares during the period. Tranquility Partners LLC’s holdings in TJX Companies were worth $1,624,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. raised its stake in shares of TJX Companies by 35.5% in the 3rd quarter. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. now owns 73,466 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock valued at $6,530,000 after acquiring an additional 19,236 shares during the period. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in TJX Companies by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. now owns 603,482 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock valued at $56,613,000 after purchasing an additional 21,767 shares in the last quarter. Savoir Faire Capital Management L.P. acquired a new stake in TJX Companies during the 3rd quarter valued at $3,197,000. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC grew its holdings in TJX Companies by 42.9% during the 4th quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 19,108 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock valued at $1,793,000 after purchasing an additional 5,737 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cape Cod Five Cents Savings Bank grew its holdings in TJX Companies by 109.1% during the 3rd quarter. Cape Cod Five Cents Savings Bank now owns 148,954 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock valued at $13,239,000 after purchasing an additional 77,711 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 $0.28 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $93.10. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,765,975 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,048,109. The TJX Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $75.65 and a 1-year high of $102.84. The firm’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 quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 1.21. The firm has a market cap of $105.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.86.

TJX Companies (NYSE:TJX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The apparel and home fashions retailer reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.10. TJX Companies had a net margin of 8.25% and a return on equity of 64.18%. The business had revenue of $16.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.20 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.89 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that The TJX Companies, Inc. will post 4.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

TJX Companies announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program 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 repurchase up to 2.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

TJX Companies Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at TJX Companies

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on TJX. Redburn Atlantic lowered shares of 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. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of TJX Companies from $95.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective 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. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 price objective on shares of TJX Companies in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $102.19.

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.