West Family Investments Inc. Grows Position in The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX)

West Family Investments Inc. grew its holdings in shares of The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX) by 12.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,628 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 392 shares during the quarter. West Family Investments Inc.’s holdings in TJX Companies were worth $340,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Anchor Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in TJX Companies in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in TJX Companies in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position in TJX Companies by 76.0% during 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 purchasing an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new position in shares of TJX Companies in the 4th quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, Gradient Investments LLC increased its position in shares of TJX Companies by 86.7% during the 4th quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 478 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.09% of the company’s stock.

TJX Companies Stock Up 1.2 %

TJX Companies stock traded up $1.11 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $94.93. 3,015,391 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,030,987. The TJX Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $75.65 and a one year high of $102.84. The company has a market cap of $107.55 billion, a PE ratio of 24.30, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.87. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $97.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $94.02. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

TJX Companies (NYSE:TJX) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $16.41 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.20 billion. TJX Companies had a return on equity of 64.18% and a net margin of 8.25%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.89 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that The TJX Companies, Inc. will post 4.07 EPS for the current year.

TJX Companies announced that its board has initiated a stock 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 purchase up to 2.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is 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. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.58%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 15th. This is a positive change from TJX Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. TJX Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.46%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Ernie Herrman sold 20,000 shares of TJX Companies stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 515,801 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $51,053,982.98. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Ernie Herrman sold 20,000 shares of the company’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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 515,801 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $51,053,982.98. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Louise Greenlees sold 2,694 shares of TJX Companies stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.83, for a total value 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 Ratings Changes

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

TJX Companies 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.