Greenleaf Trust Cuts Position in The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX)

Greenleaf Trust trimmed its position in shares of The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX) by 2.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 253,667 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock after selling 6,824 shares during the period. TJX Companies comprises about 0.3% of Greenleaf Trust’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest position. Greenleaf Trust’s holdings in TJX Companies were worth $23,797,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in TJX Companies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in TJX Companies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC purchased a new position in TJX Companies in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in TJX Companies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Cornerstone Planning Group LLC purchased a new position in TJX Companies in the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 91.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on TJX. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of TJX Companies from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 target price on shares of TJX Companies in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Redburn Atlantic lowered shares of TJX Companies from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $100.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on shares of TJX Companies from $95.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. 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, TJX Companies has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $102.19.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Louise Greenlees sold 2,694 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 50,273 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,968,480.59. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Louise Greenlees sold 2,694 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was 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 owns 50,273 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,968,480.59. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Ernie Herrman sold 20,000 shares of the business’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 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. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

TJX Companies Price Performance

TJX stock traded up $0.70 during trading on Friday, hitting $93.36. The stock had a trading volume of 6,016,372 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,038,122. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $97.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $93.59. The TJX Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $75.65 and a 1-year high of $102.84. The stock has a market cap of $105.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 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.

TJX Companies (NYSE:TJX) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The apparel and home fashions retailer reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.20 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.89 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that The TJX Companies, Inc. will post 4.07 EPS 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. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.375 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.61%. This is an increase 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 program 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 reacquire up to 2.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership 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.