Lazard Asset Management LLC Acquires 30,062 Shares of The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX)

Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX) by 7.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 455,757 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 30,062 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in TJX Companies were worth $55,059,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in TJX. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of TJX Companies in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,670,565,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in TJX Companies during the 4th quarter valued at $570,342,000. Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings in TJX Companies by 689.6% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,595,085 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock valued at $313,512,000 after purchasing an additional 2,266,415 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in TJX Companies by 15.2% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 13,985,826 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock valued at $1,689,628,000 after purchasing an additional 1,845,225 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DJE Kapital AG acquired a new stake in TJX Companies during the 4th quarter valued at $140,068,000. Institutional investors own 91.09% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on TJX shares. Barclays increased their price objective on TJX Companies from $136.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on TJX Companies from $125.00 to $115.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on TJX Companies from $136.00 to $133.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $145.00 price objective on shares of TJX Companies in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on TJX Companies from $138.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, TJX Companies has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $136.94.

TJX Companies Stock Performance

Shares of TJX Companies stock opened at $131.43 on Tuesday. The TJX Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $97.53 and a one year high of $131.58. The firm has a market cap of $146.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.19 and a quick ratio of 0.50. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $123.19 and its 200-day moving average is $122.51.

TJX Companies (NYSE:TJX) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The apparel and home fashions retailer reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.16 by $0.07. TJX Companies had a return on equity of 61.82% and a net margin of 8.63%. The business had revenue of $16.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.24 billion. Equities analysts predict that The TJX Companies, Inc. will post 4.18 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 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.425 per share. This represents a $1.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.29%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This is a positive change from TJX Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. TJX Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other TJX Companies news, Director Alan M. Bennett sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.53, for a total transaction of $988,240.00. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Ernie Herrman sold 23,428 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.03, for a total value of $2,882,346.84. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 484,189 shares in the company, valued at approximately $59,569,772.67. This trade represents a 4.62% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.