Sawgrass Asset Management LLC Acquires 23,051 Shares of The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX)

Sawgrass Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX) by 11.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 225,753 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 23,051 shares during the period. TJX Companies comprises 2.4% of Sawgrass Asset Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 6th biggest position. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC’s holdings in TJX Companies were worth $21,178,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in TJX Companies by 0.4% during the third 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 buying an additional 392,783 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 valued at $4,622,514,000 after purchasing an additional 6,036,764 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in TJX Companies by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 24,752,978 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock worth $2,200,045,000 after purchasing an additional 371,163 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in TJX Companies by 2.3% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 13,734,141 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock worth $1,220,690,000 after purchasing an additional 313,530 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC grew its holdings in TJX Companies by 0.9% in the third 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 purchasing an additional 83,643 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.09% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

TJX has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on TJX Companies from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. 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. UBS Group raised 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 research note on Thursday, May 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded 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 research note on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic lowered TJX Companies from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $100.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $104.29.

Insider Transactions at TJX Companies

In other TJX Companies news, EVP Louise Greenlees sold 2,694 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 50,273 shares in the company, valued at $4,968,480.59. The sale 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 the company’s 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 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 this link. Also, CEO Ernie Herrman sold 20,000 shares of TJX Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.98, for a total transaction 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

TJX Companies Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:TJX traded up $0.58 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $98.50. The company had a trading volume of 4,395,622 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,084,401. The firm has a market cap of $111.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.87. 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 company has a fifty day simple moving average of $96.86 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $94.23. The TJX Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $75.65 and a 1-year high of $102.84.

TJX Companies (NYSE:TJX) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The apparel and home fashions retailer reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 the consensus estimate of $16.20 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.89 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that The TJX Companies, Inc. will post 4.1 earnings per share for the current year.

TJX Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be paid a $0.375 dividend. This is a boost from TJX Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.52%. TJX Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.46%.

TJX Companies declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often 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.