Palisade Asset Management LLC Boosts Position in The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX)

Palisade Asset Management LLC raised its stake in The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX) by 1.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 120,027 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,387 shares during the period. TJX Companies accounts for about 1.2% of Palisade Asset Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 27th biggest position. Palisade Asset Management LLC’s holdings in TJX Companies were worth $11,260,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Centric Wealth Management boosted its position in shares of TJX Companies by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Centric Wealth Management now owns 42,947 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock valued at $4,151,000 after purchasing an additional 1,451 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in TJX Companies by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,534,165 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock valued at $612,970,000 after acquiring an additional 115,304 shares during the period. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management purchased a new stake in TJX Companies during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $355,000. Apollon Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of TJX Companies by 33.1% during the fourth quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 32,818 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock worth $3,079,000 after purchasing an additional 8,166 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lincoln National Corp lifted its holdings in shares of TJX Companies by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Lincoln National Corp now owns 12,374 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock worth $1,161,000 after purchasing an additional 217 shares during the period. 91.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Louise Greenlees sold 2,694 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 50,273 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,968,480.59. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Louise Greenlees sold 2,694 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 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 company’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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 515,801 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $51,053,982.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

TJX Companies Price Performance

TJX Companies stock traded up $0.58 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $98.50. 4,383,632 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,062,408. The TJX Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $75.65 and a 12-month high of $102.84. The company has a market capitalization of $111.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.31, a PEG ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.87. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $96.86 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $94.23. 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 announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The apparel and home fashions retailer reported $1.22 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $16.41 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.20 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.89 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that The TJX Companies, Inc. will post 4.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

TJX Companies announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase 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 reacquire up to 2.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

TJX Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be issued a $0.375 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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 1.52%. TJX Companies’s payout ratio is 34.46%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on TJX. 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 research note on Monday, February 5th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on TJX Companies from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $105.00 price target on shares of TJX Companies in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. UBS Group raised TJX Companies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $104.00 to $132.00 in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised TJX Companies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $100.00 to $110.00 in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, TJX Companies has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $104.29.

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.