Ifrah Financial Services Inc. Reduces Holdings in The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX)

Ifrah Financial Services Inc. lowered its position in The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX) by 8.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,891 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock after selling 263 shares during the quarter. Ifrah Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in TJX Companies were worth $271,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in TJX. Anchor Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of TJX Companies in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of TJX Companies in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of TJX Companies by 76.0% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 389 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 168 shares during the period. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. bought a new stake in TJX Companies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, Gradient Investments LLC lifted its stake in TJX Companies by 86.7% in the 4th quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 478 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares in the last quarter. 91.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Louise Greenlees sold 2,694 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now 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 accessible through this link. In other TJX Companies news, EVP Louise Greenlees sold 2,694 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 50,273 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,968,480.59. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, 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 $51,053,982.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

TJX Companies Trading Up 0.2 %

NYSE TJX traded up $0.20 on Friday, hitting $95.11. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 5,894,076 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,182,456. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The TJX Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $75.65 and a 52-week high of $102.84. The firm has a market cap of $107.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.64, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.87. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $96.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $94.06.

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

TJX Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 of this dividend is Wednesday, May 15th. This is a positive change from TJX Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.58%. TJX Companies’s payout ratio is currently 34.46%.

TJX Companies declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase 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 purchase 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.

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.