Bank OZK Has $2.70 Million Stock Holdings in The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX)

Bank OZK lessened its stake in shares of The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX) by 5.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 28,813 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock after selling 1,572 shares during the quarter. TJX Companies comprises about 1.3% of Bank OZK’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Bank OZK’s holdings in TJX Companies were worth $2,703,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in TJX Companies by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 95,135,688 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock worth $8,455,660,000 after purchasing an additional 392,783 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake 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 purchasing an additional 6,036,764 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its stake in TJX Companies by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 24,752,978 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock worth $2,200,045,000 after purchasing an additional 371,163 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in TJX Companies by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 13,734,141 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock worth $1,220,690,000 after purchasing an additional 313,530 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC raised its position in shares of TJX Companies by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 9,054,237 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock valued at $804,741,000 after buying an additional 83,643 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.09% of the company’s stock.

TJX Companies Trading Down 0.1 %

TJX traded down $0.06 during trading on Friday, reaching $96.36. 3,748,411 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,860,047. The TJX Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $75.65 and a one year high of $102.84. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $109.17 billion, a PE ratio of 24.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.86. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $97.33 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $93.87.

TJX Companies (NYSE:TJX) last posted 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 firm had revenue of $16.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.20 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.89 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that The TJX Companies, Inc. will post 4.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

TJX Companies declared that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, February 28th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the apparel and home fashions retailer to buy up to 2.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership 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 is a positive change from TJX Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 15th. TJX Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.86%.

Insider Activity

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $105.00 target price on shares of TJX Companies in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of TJX Companies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $100.00 to $110.00 in a research report on Thursday. Redburn Atlantic cut shares of TJX Companies from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $100.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Monday, February 5th. BMO Capital Markets boosted 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. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of TJX Companies from $95.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $102.65.

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.