The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX) Stock Position Raised by Epic Trust Investment Advisors LLC

Epic Trust Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX) by 3.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,253 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the quarter. Epic Trust Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in TJX Companies were worth $399,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in TJX. Certuity LLC boosted its holdings in shares of TJX Companies by 74.0% during the fourth quarter. Certuity LLC now owns 6,281 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock worth $589,000 after purchasing an additional 2,671 shares during the period. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. increased its position in TJX Companies by 13.6% in the 4th quarter. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. now owns 83,454 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock worth $7,829,000 after purchasing an additional 9,988 shares during the last quarter. Field & Main Bank raised its stake in shares of TJX Companies by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Field & Main Bank now owns 16,835 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock worth $1,579,000 after purchasing an additional 430 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in TJX Companies by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 266,249 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock worth $24,977,000 after buying an additional 8,755 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Crew Capital Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in TJX Companies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $329,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.09% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on TJX. Redburn Atlantic downgraded shares of TJX Companies from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $100.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Monday, February 5th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $105.00 target price on shares of TJX Companies in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on TJX Companies from $95.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on TJX Companies from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of TJX Companies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $100.00 to $110.00 in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $102.65.

TJX Companies Trading Down 0.7 %

TJX traded down $0.71 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $94.16. The stock had a trading volume of 3,525,356 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,027,382. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $97.27 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $93.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $106.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.86. The TJX Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $75.65 and a 52 week high of $102.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 1.21.

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 for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $16.41 billion for 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.89 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that The TJX Companies, Inc. will post 4.07 EPS for the current year.

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 given a $0.375 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.59%. This is a boost from TJX Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. TJX Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.46%.

TJX Companies announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, February 28th that permits the company to repurchase $2.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the apparel and home fashions retailer to buy up to 2.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, 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 transaction of $266,248.02. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 50,273 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,968,480.59. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, EVP Louise Greenlees sold 2,694 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.83, for a total value 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Ernie Herrman sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.98, for a total transaction of $1,979,600.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 515,801 shares in the company, valued at $51,053,982.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.