Aberdeen Group plc Buys 304,291 Shares of The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX)

Aberdeen Group plc increased its stake in The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX) by 16.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,105,068 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 304,291 shares during the quarter. Aberdeen Group plc owned approximately 0.19% of TJX Companies worth $252,671,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Horizon Investments LLC raised its holdings in TJX Companies by 3.5% in the 1st quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 22,837 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock worth $2,782,000 after purchasing an additional 766 shares during the period. Providence Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in TJX Companies in the 1st quarter worth $5,907,000. Trivium Point Advisory LLC raised its holdings in TJX Companies by 8.5% in the 1st quarter. Trivium Point Advisory LLC now owns 23,190 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock worth $2,825,000 after purchasing an additional 1,825 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC raised its holdings in TJX Companies by 15.1% in the 1st quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 133,737 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock worth $16,289,000 after purchasing an additional 17,557 shares during the period. Finally, Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. increased its stake in TJX Companies by 90.7% in the 1st quarter. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. now owns 76,242 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock worth $9,286,000 after buying an additional 36,259 shares in the last quarter. 91.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

TJX Companies Trading Down 0.8%

TJX opened at $132.99 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $148.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.29, a P/E/G ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.89. The TJX Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $110.24 and a 12 month high of $135.85. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $125.83 and a 200 day moving average of $125.05.

TJX Companies (NYSE:TJX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 21st. The apparel and home fashions retailer reported $0.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $13.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.01 billion. TJX Companies had a net margin of 8.47% and a return on equity of 58.81%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.93 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that The TJX Companies, Inc. will post 4.18 EPS for the current year.

TJX Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 4th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 14th will be paid a $0.425 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 14th. This represents a $1.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. TJX Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.00%.

Insider Transactions at TJX Companies

In other news, Director Amy B. Lane sold 950 shares of TJX Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.09, for a total transaction of $121,685.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 22,712 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,909,180.08. The trade was a 4.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on TJX shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on TJX Companies from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. TD Securities increased their price target on TJX Companies from $140.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Morgan Stanley set a $140.00 price target on TJX Companies and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $147.00 price target (up previously from $137.00) on shares of TJX Companies in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Daiwa America upgraded TJX Companies to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $141.33.

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.