Handelsbanken Fonder AB Sells 14,342 Shares of The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB lowered its stake in The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX) by 2.5% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 569,942 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock after selling 14,342 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in TJX Companies were worth $69,419,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in TJX Companies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,670,565,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of TJX Companies in the 4th quarter valued at $570,342,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of TJX Companies by 14,486.1% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,912,116 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock valued at $354,696,000 after acquiring an additional 2,892,151 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in shares of TJX Companies by 689.6% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,595,085 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock valued at $313,512,000 after acquiring an additional 2,266,415 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its position in TJX Companies by 15.2% during the 4th 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 acquiring an additional 1,845,225 shares during the last quarter. 91.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at TJX Companies

In other news, Director Amy B. Lane sold 950 shares of the 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 owns 22,712 shares in the company, valued at $2,909,180.08. This represents a 4.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on TJX. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of TJX Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Loop Capital set a $150.00 price target on shares of TJX Companies and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of TJX Companies in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of TJX Companies from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $164.00 target price (up from $154.00) on shares of TJX Companies in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $141.53.

TJX Companies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:TJX opened at $126.35 on Tuesday. The TJX Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $106.18 and a twelve month high of $135.85. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $127.66 and its 200-day moving average is $124.21. The company has a quick ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $141.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.73, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.90.

TJX Companies (NYSE:TJX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 21st. The apparel and home fashions retailer reported $0.92 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.02. TJX Companies had a net margin of 8.63% and a return on equity of 61.82%. The business had revenue of $13.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.01 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.93 EPS. TJX Companies’s quarterly revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that The TJX Companies, Inc. will post 4.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

TJX Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th were issued a $0.425 dividend. This represents a $1.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.35%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 15th. This is a positive change from TJX Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. TJX Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.00%.

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.