Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC Buys 1,191 Shares of The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX)

Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX) by 45.1% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,832 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock after buying an additional 1,191 shares during the period. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in TJX Companies were worth $359,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of TJX. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. grew its holdings in shares of TJX Companies by 35.5% during the third 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 purchasing an additional 19,236 shares during the last quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 21,767 shares during the last quarter. Savoir Faire Capital Management L.P. acquired a new stake in TJX Companies in the 3rd quarter valued at about $3,197,000. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC raised its stake in shares of TJX Companies by 42.9% in the fourth quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 19,108 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock worth $1,793,000 after acquiring an additional 5,737 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cape Cod Five Cents Savings Bank lifted its position in shares of TJX Companies by 109.1% during the third quarter. Cape Cod Five Cents Savings Bank now owns 148,954 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock worth $13,239,000 after purchasing an additional 77,711 shares in the last quarter. 91.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Louise Greenlees sold 2,694 shares of TJX Companies 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 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other TJX Companies news, EVP Louise Greenlees sold 2,694 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were 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 approximately $4,968,480.59. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 515,801 shares in the company, valued at $51,053,982.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

TJX Companies Stock Performance

NYSE TJX opened at $96.36 on Friday. The TJX Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $75.65 and a fifty-two week high of $102.84. The stock has a market cap of $109.17 billion, a PE ratio of 24.96, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.86. 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 firm’s fifty day moving average price is $97.33 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $93.87.

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

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

TJX Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.56%. 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. TJX Companies’s payout ratio is presently 34.46%.

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.