Ledyard National Bank Has $10.51 Million Stake in The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX)

Ledyard National Bank reduced its stake in The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX) by 2.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 112,057 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock after selling 3,271 shares during the period. TJX Companies makes up approximately 1.1% of Ledyard National Bank’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest position. Ledyard National Bank’s holdings in TJX Companies were worth $10,512,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. boosted its position in shares of TJX Companies by 35.5% during the 3rd quarter. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. now owns 73,466 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock worth $6,530,000 after acquiring an additional 19,236 shares in the last quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of TJX Companies by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. now owns 603,482 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock worth $56,613,000 after buying an additional 21,767 shares in the last quarter. Savoir Faire Capital Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of TJX Companies during the 3rd quarter worth $3,197,000. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC lifted its position in shares of TJX Companies by 42.9% during the 4th quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 19,108 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock worth $1,793,000 after buying an additional 5,737 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cape Cod Five Cents Savings Bank boosted its stake in TJX Companies by 109.1% in the third quarter. Cape Cod Five Cents Savings Bank now owns 148,954 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock valued at $13,239,000 after buying an additional 77,711 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.09% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. 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 report on Monday, February 5th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 price target on shares of TJX Companies in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded TJX Companies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $100.00 to $110.00 in a research note on Thursday. UBS Group boosted their price objective on TJX Companies from $95.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on TJX Companies from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, TJX Companies currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $102.65.

TJX Companies Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of TJX traded down $1.46 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $94.90. 4,682,312 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,054,049. The TJX Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $75.65 and a fifty-two week high of $102.84. The business has a 50-day moving average of $97.27 and a 200-day moving average of $93.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $107.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.86. 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 issued its quarterly 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. The firm had revenue of $16.41 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.20 billion. TJX Companies had a return on equity of 64.18% and a net margin of 8.25%. The business’s revenue was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.89 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that The TJX Companies, Inc. will post 4.07 EPS for the current 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 $0.375 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.58%. This is a positive change from TJX Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. TJX Companies’s payout ratio is currently 34.46%.

TJX Companies declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, February 28th that allows the company to repurchase $2.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the apparel and home fashions retailer to buy up to 2.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at TJX Companies

In other TJX Companies news, CEO Ernie Herrman sold 20,000 shares of TJX Companies 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 515,801 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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, CEO Ernie Herrman sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.98, for a total transaction of $1,979,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 515,801 shares in the company, valued at $51,053,982.98. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Louise Greenlees sold 2,694 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.83, for a total value of $266,248.02. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 50,273 shares in the company, valued at $4,968,480.59. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.