US Asset Management LLC Takes $272,000 Position in The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX)

US Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 2,896 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $272,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of TJX Companies by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 95,135,688 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock valued at $8,455,660,000 after purchasing an additional 392,783 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake in TJX Companies by 13.1% during 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 acquiring an additional 6,036,764 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley raised its stake in 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 worth $2,200,045,000 after acquiring an additional 371,163 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in TJX Companies by 2.3% during 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 acquiring an additional 313,530 shares during the period. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC raised its stake in TJX Companies by 0.9% during 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 acquiring an additional 83,643 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.09% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

TJX has been the topic of several research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of TJX Companies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $100.00 to $110.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. UBS Group upgraded shares of TJX Companies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $104.00 to $132.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of TJX Companies from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Redburn Atlantic lowered shares of TJX Companies from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $100.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $105.00 price target on shares of TJX Companies in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $104.29.

TJX Companies Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:TJX traded up $0.45 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $98.95. The stock had a trading volume of 6,000,557 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,110,173. 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 company has a market cap of $112.11 billion, a PE ratio of 25.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.87. The TJX Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $75.65 and a 12-month high of $102.84. The company’s 50 day moving average is $96.80 and its 200-day moving average is $94.26.

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

TJX Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be given a $0.375 dividend. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.52%. This is a positive change from TJX Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 15th. TJX Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.46%.

TJX Companies declared that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, February 28th that permits the company to buyback $2.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the apparel and home fashions retailer to reacquire up to 2.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Louise Greenlees sold 2,694 shares of TJX Companies stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $4,968,480.59. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other TJX Companies 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 transaction of $1,979,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 515,801 shares in the company, valued at $51,053,982.98. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Louise Greenlees sold 2,694 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 50,273 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,968,480.59. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

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.