Bailard Inc. Purchases 1,377 Shares of The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX)

Bailard Inc. boosted its stake in The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX) by 0.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 214,222 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,377 shares during the quarter. Bailard Inc.’s holdings in TJX Companies were worth $20,096,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of TJX. IFP Advisors Inc grew its holdings in TJX Companies by 11.8% in the third quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 5,153 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock worth $458,000 after purchasing an additional 542 shares during the period. RFG Advisory LLC grew its holdings in TJX Companies by 60.2% in the third quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 5,902 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock worth $525,000 after purchasing an additional 2,218 shares during the period. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC acquired a new stake in TJX Companies in the third quarter worth $220,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in TJX Companies by 3.3% in the third quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,728 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock worth $331,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the period. Finally, Meridian Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in TJX Companies by 9.9% in the third quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,606 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock worth $676,000 after purchasing an additional 683 shares during the period. 91.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on TJX shares. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 price objective on shares of TJX Companies in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. 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. UBS Group lifted 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, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of TJX Companies from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, TJX Companies has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $102.19.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

TJX Companies Stock Performance

TJX stock traded up $0.78 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $95.28. The company had a trading volume of 6,387,370 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,054,453. The firm has a market cap of $107.95 billion, a PE ratio of 24.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 1.21. The TJX Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $75.65 and a 12 month high of $102.84. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $97.39 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $93.80.

TJX Companies (NYSE:TJX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 28th. The apparel and home fashions retailer reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $16.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 for the quarter was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.89 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that The TJX Companies, Inc. will post 4.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

TJX Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be given a $0.375 dividend. This is a positive change 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 1.57%. TJX Companies’s payout ratio is currently 34.46%.

TJX Companies declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

About TJX Companies

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.