Cambridge Trust Co. Sells 1,158 Shares of The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX)

Cambridge Trust Co. cut its stake in The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX) by 1.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 72,447 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock after selling 1,158 shares during the period. Cambridge Trust Co.’s holdings in TJX Companies were worth $6,796,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of TJX. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of TJX Companies by 90,089.8% during 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 during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its stake in shares of TJX Companies by 88.1% during 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 during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of TJX Companies during the fourth quarter worth approximately $891,631,000. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board bought a new stake in shares of TJX Companies during the first quarter worth approximately $408,331,000. Finally, FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of TJX Companies by 13.1% during 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 buying an additional 6,036,764 shares during the last quarter. 91.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

TJX Companies Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of TJX Companies stock traded down $0.49 on Thursday, hitting $92.64. The company had a trading volume of 1,609,393 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,001,300. The firm has a market capitalization of $104.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.86. The TJX Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $75.65 and a twelve month high of $102.84. 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 stock has a 50-day moving average of $97.80 and a 200-day moving average of $93.59.

TJX Companies (NYSE:TJX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The apparel and home fashions retailer reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $16.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.20 billion. TJX Companies had a net margin of 8.25% and a return on equity of 64.18%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.89 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that The TJX Companies, Inc. will post 4.07 earnings per share for the current year.

TJX Companies announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, February 28th that permits the company to buyback $2.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the apparel and home fashions retailer to repurchase up to 2.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

TJX Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.375 per share. This is a boost from TJX Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.62%. TJX Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 38.86%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Louise Greenlees sold 2,694 shares of the 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 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Ernie Herrman sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at $51,053,982.98. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible 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 transaction of $266,248.02. Following 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 currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on TJX. 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 note on Thursday, February 29th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 price target on shares of TJX Companies in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of TJX Companies from $95.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. Finally, Redburn Atlantic cut shares of TJX Companies from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $100.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Monday, February 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, TJX Companies presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $102.19.

TJX Companies 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.