The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX) Stake Boosted by Larson Financial Group LLC

Larson Financial Group LLC increased its stake in The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX) by 67.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 651 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 262 shares during the quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC’s holdings in TJX Companies were worth $61,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in 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 worth $8,455,660,000 after purchasing an additional 392,783 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in TJX Companies by 13.1% during 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 acquiring an additional 6,036,764 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its stake in TJX Companies by 1.5% during the 3rd 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 acquiring an additional 371,163 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in TJX Companies by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 13,734,141 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock valued at $1,220,690,000 after acquiring an additional 313,530 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC grew its stake in TJX Companies by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 9,054,237 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock valued at $804,741,000 after acquiring 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 Up 1.2 %

TJX opened at $96.42 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $97.36 and a 200 day moving average price of $93.82. The TJX Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $75.65 and a twelve month high of $102.84. 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 $109.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.86.

TJX Companies (NYSE:TJX) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The apparel and home fashions retailer reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.10. TJX Companies had a return on equity of 64.18% and a net margin of 8.25%. The firm 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 company earned $0.89 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that The TJX Companies, Inc. will post 4.07 EPS for the current year.

TJX Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 is a positive change from TJX Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 15th. TJX Companies’s payout ratio is 34.46%.

TJX Companies declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, February 28th that allows the company to repurchase $2.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the apparel and home fashions retailer to repurchase up to 2.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on TJX shares. UBS Group lifted their target price on TJX Companies from $95.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group raised TJX Companies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $100.00 to $110.00 in a research note on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on 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 cut TJX Companies from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $100.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 target price on shares of TJX Companies in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, TJX Companies currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $102.65.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Ernie Herrman sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly 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 the SEC website. In other TJX Companies news, EVP Louise Greenlees sold 2,694 shares of TJX Companies stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 50,273 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,968,480.59. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Ernie Herrman sold 20,000 shares of TJX Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 515,801 shares in the company, valued at $51,053,982.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

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.