Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management Makes New $355,000 Investment in The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX)

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management bought a new stake in The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm bought 3,782 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $355,000.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in TJX. Graypoint LLC increased its holdings in shares of TJX Companies by 24.9% in the third quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 6,266 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock valued at $557,000 after purchasing an additional 1,249 shares during the last quarter. Gratus Capital LLC increased its position in TJX Companies by 10.8% during the third quarter. Gratus Capital LLC now owns 2,996 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock worth $266,000 after purchasing an additional 293 shares during the last quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd purchased a new position in TJX Companies during the third quarter worth about $980,000. TIAA Trust National Association acquired a new position in TJX Companies in the 3rd quarter valued at about $20,542,000. Finally, Oarsman Capital Inc. increased its holdings in shares of TJX Companies by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. Oarsman Capital Inc. now owns 2,594 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock worth $231,000 after buying an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. 91.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

TJX has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded TJX Companies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $100.00 to $110.00 in a report on Thursday, April 25th. UBS Group raised TJX Companies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $104.00 to $132.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of TJX Companies from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the company 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 for the company. in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set 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 given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $104.29.

TJX Companies Stock Performance

NYSE:TJX opened at $98.50 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $111.60 billion, a PE 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 current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 0.64. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $96.86 and its 200 day moving average price is $94.23. The TJX Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $75.65 and a 12 month high of $102.84.

TJX Companies (NYSE:TJX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 28th. The apparel and home fashions retailer reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $16.41 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.20 billion. TJX Companies had a net margin of 8.25% and a return on equity of 64.18%. The company’s revenue was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.89 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that The TJX Companies, Inc. will post 4.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

TJX Companies Increases Dividend

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

TJX Companies announced that its board has approved a stock buyback program 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 buy up to 2.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at TJX Companies

In other news, EVP Louise Greenlees sold 2,694 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $4,968,480.59. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other TJX Companies news, EVP Louise Greenlees sold 2,694 shares of the company’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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 50,273 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,968,480.59. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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 value of $1,979,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

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.