Avalon Trust Co Reduces Stock Position in The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX)

Avalon Trust Co trimmed its position in The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX) by 0.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 216,412 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock after selling 1,863 shares during the period. TJX Companies comprises about 1.9% of Avalon Trust Co’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest position. Avalon Trust Co’s holdings in TJX Companies were worth $20,302,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of TJX. FMR LLC grew its stake in TJX Companies by 13.1% in the 3rd 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. Schroder Investment Management Group increased its stake in TJX Companies by 350.9% in the third quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 2,078,244 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock valued at $184,714,000 after purchasing an additional 1,617,367 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in TJX Companies by 225.6% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,137,256 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock worth $189,959,000 after buying an additional 1,480,837 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in TJX Companies by 93.2% in the 3rd quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 2,949,415 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock worth $262,144,000 after buying an additional 1,423,004 shares during the last quarter. Finally, J.P. Morgan Private Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of TJX Companies during the 3rd quarter valued at about $115,982,000. 91.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

TJX Companies Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of TJX traded up $0.20 during trading on Friday, reaching $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 market cap of $107.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The company has a fifty day moving average of $96.94 and a two-hundred day moving average of $94.06. The TJX Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $75.65 and a twelve month high of $102.84.

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

TJX Companies declared that its Board of Directors has initiated 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 buy up to 2.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

TJX Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 15th. This is a boost from TJX Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. TJX Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.46%.

Insider Activity

In related 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 $4,968,480.59. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Louise Greenlees sold 2,694 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $4,968,480.59. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Ernie Herrman sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 21st. The shares were 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 $51,053,982.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.