Raymond James & Associates Increases Position in The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX)

Raymond James & Associates increased its stake in shares of The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX) by 2.3% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 2,897,533 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 64,773 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates’ holdings in TJX Companies were worth $293,868,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of TJX. Avior Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of TJX Companies by 3.3% during the third quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,728 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock worth $331,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in TJX Companies by 9.9% during the third quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,606 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock valued at $676,000 after purchasing an additional 683 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its position in TJX Companies by 467.7% during the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 21,420 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock valued at $1,904,000 after purchasing an additional 17,647 shares during the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp lifted its position in TJX Companies by 0.7% during the third quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 104,156 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock valued at $9,257,000 after purchasing an additional 775 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Blueprint LLC lifted its position in TJX Companies by 9.8% during the third quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC now owns 6,791 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock valued at $604,000 after purchasing an additional 607 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.09% of the company’s stock.

TJX Companies Stock Down 0.1 %

NYSE TJX traded down $0.06 during trading on Friday, reaching $96.36. 3,748,411 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,860,047. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 0.64. The firm has a market cap of $109.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.86. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $97.33 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $93.94. The TJX Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $75.65 and a 12-month high of $102.84.

TJX Companies (NYSE:TJX) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The apparel and home fashions retailer reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.10. TJX Companies had a net margin of 8.25% and a return on equity of 64.18%. The business had revenue of $16.41 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.20 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.89 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that The TJX Companies, Inc. will post 4.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

TJX Companies announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 28th that allows the company to buyback $2.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the apparel and home fashions retailer to purchase up to 2.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

TJX Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be given a $0.375 dividend. 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 1.56%. This is an increase from TJX Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. TJX Companies’s payout ratio is presently 34.46%.

Insider Transactions at TJX Companies

In other news, CEO Ernie Herrman sold 20,000 shares of TJX Companies stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 515,801 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $51,053,982.98. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CEO Ernie Herrman sold 20,000 shares of TJX Companies stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at approximately $51,053,982.98. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Louise Greenlees sold 2,694 shares of TJX Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $4,968,480.59. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on TJX. Redburn Atlantic lowered shares of TJX Companies from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $100.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Monday, February 5th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of TJX Companies from $95.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $105.00 target price on shares of TJX Companies in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of TJX Companies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $100.00 to $110.00 in a report on Thursday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of TJX Companies from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, TJX Companies presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $102.65.

TJX Companies Company 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.