The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX) Stake Trimmed by Tufton Capital Management

Tufton Capital Management lessened its stake in The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX) by 3.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 138,784 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock after selling 5,420 shares during the quarter. TJX Companies makes up about 2.7% of Tufton Capital Management’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest position. Tufton Capital Management’s holdings in TJX Companies were worth $13,019,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of TJX. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of TJX Companies by 90,089.8% in the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 19,788,543 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock worth $1,575,168,000 after buying an additional 19,766,602 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in shares of TJX Companies by 88.1% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 26,619,778 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock worth $2,118,935,000 after buying an additional 12,468,119 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in TJX Companies in the fourth quarter worth $891,631,000. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board bought a new stake in TJX Companies in the first quarter worth $408,331,000. Finally, FMR LLC increased its position in TJX Companies by 13.1% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 52,008,484 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock worth $4,622,514,000 after purchasing an additional 6,036,764 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.09% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

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 completion of 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 can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Ernie Herrman sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 515,801 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $51,053,982.98. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Louise Greenlees sold 2,694 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.83, for a total transaction of $266,248.02. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 50,273 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,968,480.59. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

TJX has been the topic of several research reports. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of TJX Companies from $95.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. 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 report on Thursday, February 29th. Redburn Atlantic cut shares of TJX Companies from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $100.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $105.00 price target on shares of TJX Companies in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $102.19.

TJX Companies Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of TJX traded up $0.22 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $93.35. 862,003 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,991,090. The firm has a market cap of $105.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.12, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.86. The TJX Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $75.65 and a 12-month high of $102.84. 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 stock’s fifty day moving average price is $97.80 and its 200 day moving average price is $93.59.

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

TJX Companies announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, February 28th that allows the company to repurchase $2.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the apparel and home fashions retailer to repurchase up to 2.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

TJX Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.375 per share. This is a positive change from TJX Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 15th. TJX Companies’s payout ratio is currently 38.86%.

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.