Xponance Inc. Boosts Holdings in The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX)

Xponance Inc. boosted its holdings in The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX) by 1.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 266,331 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock after buying an additional 2,996 shares during the quarter. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in TJX Companies were worth $24,985,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of TJX. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in TJX Companies by 90,089.8% in the 4th 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 position in TJX Companies by 88.1% in the 4th 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 purchased a new position in TJX Companies in the 4th quarter worth about $891,631,000. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board purchased a new position in TJX Companies in the 1st quarter worth about $408,331,000. Finally, FMR LLC raised its position in TJX Companies by 13.1% in the 3rd 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.09% of the company’s stock.

TJX Companies Stock Down 0.5 %

TJX Companies stock traded down $0.47 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $92.66. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,290,673 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,012,060. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $97.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $93.59. 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 market capitalization of $104.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.12, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.86.

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

TJX Companies announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 28th that allows the company to repurchase $2.50 billion in outstanding 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 plans are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

TJX Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be paid a $0.375 dividend. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.62%. This is a boost from TJX Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 15th. TJX Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.86%.

Insider Transactions at TJX Companies

In other news, CEO Ernie Herrman sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 515,801 shares in the company, valued at $51,053,982.98. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CEO Ernie Herrman sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 515,801 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $51,053,982.98. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Louise Greenlees sold 2,694 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.83, for a total value 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. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on TJX. Redburn Atlantic downgraded TJX Companies from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $100.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 price target on shares of TJX Companies in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on TJX Companies from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on TJX Companies from $95.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.