The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX) Shares Purchased by Suncoast Equity Management

Suncoast Equity Management grew its stake in shares of The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX) by 5.3% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 25,495 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,280 shares during the quarter. TJX Companies accounts for about 0.3% of Suncoast Equity Management’s holdings, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Suncoast Equity Management’s holdings in TJX Companies were worth $2,392,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in TJX Companies by 90,089.8% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 19,788,543 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock valued at $1,575,168,000 after purchasing an additional 19,766,602 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its stake in TJX Companies by 88.1% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 26,619,778 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock valued at $2,118,935,000 after purchasing an additional 12,468,119 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in TJX Companies in the 4th quarter valued at $891,631,000. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board acquired a new position in TJX Companies in the 1st quarter valued at $408,331,000. Finally, FMR LLC raised its stake in 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 during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.09% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on TJX shares. Redburn Atlantic downgraded TJX Companies from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $100.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Monday, February 5th. UBS Group raised their target price on TJX Companies from $95.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on TJX Companies from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 target price on shares of TJX Companies in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $102.19.

TJX Companies Price Performance

Shares of TJX Companies stock traded up $0.85 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $93.83. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,371,351 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,014,471. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $97.97 and a 200-day moving average price of $93.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The company has a market capitalization of $106.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.86. 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 released 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. TJX Companies had a return on equity of 64.18% and a net margin of 8.25%. The company had revenue of $16.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.20 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.89 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that The TJX Companies, Inc. will post 4.07 EPS for the current year.

TJX Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 16th will be given a dividend of $0.375 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 15th. This is an increase from TJX Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.60%. TJX Companies’s dividend payout ratio is 34.46%.

TJX Companies announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share 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 reacquire up to 2.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Ernie Herrman sold 20,000 shares of the firm’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 transaction, 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 SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Ernie Herrman sold 20,000 shares of the firm’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 transaction, 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 SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Louise Greenlees sold 2,694 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.83, for a total value of $266,248.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now 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 currently 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.