National Bank of Canada FI Lowers Stock Holdings in The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX)

National Bank of Canada FI trimmed its stake in shares of The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX) by 27.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 577,542 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock after selling 220,317 shares during the quarter. National Bank of Canada FI owned 0.05% of TJX Companies worth $53,866,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in TJX. Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its holdings in TJX Companies by 22.9% during the 3rd quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 5,278 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock valued at $469,000 after buying an additional 983 shares during the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of TJX Companies by 7.0% during the third quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 7,016 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock worth $624,000 after purchasing an additional 456 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its holdings in shares of TJX Companies by 8.3% during the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 409,501 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock worth $36,396,000 after purchasing an additional 31,434 shares during the period. BluePath Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of TJX Companies in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $101,000. Finally, Crescent Grove Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of TJX Companies by 8.6% during the third quarter. Crescent Grove Advisors LLC now owns 3,292 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock valued at $293,000 after buying an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. 91.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

TJX Companies Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of TJX Companies stock traded up $1.59 during trading on Monday, hitting $96.70. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,233,669 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,060,203. The stock has a market cap of $109.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 0.64. The TJX Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $75.65 and a 52 week high of $102.84. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $96.94 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $94.11.

TJX Companies (NYSE:TJX) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The apparel and home fashions retailer reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.10. TJX Companies had a net margin of 8.25% and a return on equity of 64.18%. The business had revenue of $16.41 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.20 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.89 earnings per share. TJX Companies’s quarterly revenue was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that The TJX Companies, Inc. will post 4.07 EPS for the current fiscal 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 issued a $0.375 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.55%. 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%.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on TJX. 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 research note on Thursday, February 29th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $105.00 price target on shares of TJX Companies in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded TJX Companies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $100.00 to $110.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Redburn Atlantic cut TJX Companies from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $100.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of TJX Companies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $104.00 to $132.00 in a report on Thursday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $104.29.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 50,273 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,968,480.59. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Ernie Herrman sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 515,801 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $51,053,982.98. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Louise Greenlees sold 2,694 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 50,273 shares in the company, valued at $4,968,480.59. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.13% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.