2,867 Shares in The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX) Purchased by Ethos Financial Group LLC

Ethos Financial Group LLC bought a new position in The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 2,867 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $269,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of TJX. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $8,455,660,000 after buying an additional 392,783 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in TJX Companies by 13.1% during 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 in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its position in shares of TJX Companies by 1.5% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 24,752,978 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock worth $2,200,045,000 after buying an additional 371,163 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of TJX Companies by 2.3% during 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 acquiring an additional 313,530 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC boosted its stake in TJX Companies by 0.9% in the third 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 acquiring an additional 83,643 shares in the last quarter. 91.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on TJX. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded TJX Companies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $100.00 to $110.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Redburn Atlantic downgraded shares of TJX Companies from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $100.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Monday, February 5th. 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 report on Thursday, February 29th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 price objective on shares of TJX Companies in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded TJX Companies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $104.00 to $132.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, TJX Companies currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $104.29.

Insider Transactions at TJX Companies

In related news, CEO Ernie Herrman sold 20,000 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $1,979,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 515,801 shares in the company, valued at $51,053,982.98. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other TJX Companies news, EVP Louise Greenlees sold 2,694 shares of TJX Companies 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 50,273 shares in the company, valued at $4,968,480.59. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, 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 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 approximately $51,053,982.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

TJX Companies Stock Up 0.5 %

NYSE TJX traded up $0.45 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $98.95. The company had a trading volume of 6,000,557 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,110,173. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $96.80 and its 200 day moving average is $94.26. The TJX Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $75.65 and a fifty-two week high of $102.84. The company has a market capitalization of $112.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.62, a P/E/G 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.

TJX Companies (NYSE:TJX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The apparel and home fashions retailer reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $16.41 billion for 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 for the quarter was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.89 EPS. 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 business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 16th will be given a $0.375 dividend. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.52%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 15th. This is a positive change from TJX Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. TJX Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.46%.

TJX Companies declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, February 28th that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the apparel and home fashions retailer to buy up to 2.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.