W.H. Cornerstone Investments Inc. Has $332,000 Stock Position in The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX)

W.H. Cornerstone Investments Inc. boosted its stake in The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX) by 34.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,537 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 904 shares during the quarter. W.H. Cornerstone Investments Inc.’s holdings in TJX Companies were worth $332,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of TJX Companies by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 95,135,688 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock worth $8,455,660,000 after acquiring an additional 392,783 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of TJX Companies by 13.1% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 52,008,484 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock valued at $4,622,514,000 after purchasing an additional 6,036,764 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its stake in shares of TJX Companies by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 24,752,978 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock valued at $2,200,045,000 after purchasing an additional 371,163 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of TJX Companies by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 13,734,141 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock worth $1,220,690,000 after buying an additional 313,530 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC lifted its holdings in shares of TJX Companies by 0.9% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 9,054,237 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock worth $804,741,000 after acquiring an additional 83,643 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.09% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on TJX shares. The Goldman Sachs Group raised TJX Companies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $100.00 to $110.00 in a report on Thursday, April 25th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on TJX Companies from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $105.00 price objective on shares of TJX Companies in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. UBS Group raised shares of TJX Companies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $104.00 to $132.00 in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Redburn Atlantic downgraded shares of TJX Companies from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $100.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $104.29.

TJX Companies Stock Up 0.2 %

TJX Companies stock traded up $0.20 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $95.11. The stock had a trading volume of 5,894,076 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,182,456. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 1.21. The TJX Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $75.65 and a fifty-two week high of $102.84. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $96.94 and its 200-day simple moving average is $94.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $107.76 billion, a PE ratio of 24.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.87.

TJX Companies (NYSE:TJX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The apparel and home fashions retailer reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $16.41 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.20 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.89 EPS. TJX Companies’s revenue was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 16th will be issued a $0.375 dividend. This is an increase from TJX Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 15th. TJX Companies’s payout ratio is 34.46%.

TJX Companies declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, February 28th that allows the company to buyback $2.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the apparel and home fashions retailer to purchase up to 2.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at TJX Companies

In other news, CEO Ernie Herrman sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, EVP Louise Greenlees sold 2,694 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 50,273 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,968,480.59. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Ernie Herrman sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 515,801 shares in the company, valued at approximately $51,053,982.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.13% of the stock is owned by company 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.