National Pension Service Acquires 59,741 Shares of The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX)

National Pension Service increased its stake in shares of The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX) by 2.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,254,853 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 59,741 shares during the period. National Pension Service owned approximately 0.20% of TJX Companies worth $211,528,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of TJX Companies by 35.5% in the third quarter. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. now owns 73,466 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock valued at $6,530,000 after purchasing an additional 19,236 shares in the last quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in TJX Companies by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. now owns 603,482 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock valued at $56,613,000 after purchasing an additional 21,767 shares during the period. Savoir Faire Capital Management L.P. acquired a new stake in TJX Companies during the third quarter worth approximately $3,197,000. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC raised its stake in 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 valued at $1,793,000 after purchasing an additional 5,737 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cape Cod Five Cents Savings Bank lifted its holdings in shares of TJX Companies by 109.1% during the 3rd 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 acquiring an additional 77,711 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.09% of the company’s stock.

TJX Companies Price Performance

NYSE TJX traded up $0.33 on Thursday, reaching $98.83. The company had a trading volume of 1,526,890 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,059,422. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $96.86 and its 200 day moving average price is $94.23. The TJX Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $75.65 and a 12 month high of $102.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $111.97 billion, a PE ratio of 25.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

TJX Companies (NYSE:TJX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 28th. The apparel and home fashions retailer reported $1.22 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $16.41 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.20 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.89 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that The TJX Companies, Inc. will post 4.1 earnings per share for the current year.

TJX Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be given a dividend of $0.375 per share. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.52%. This is a positive change from TJX Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 15th. TJX Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.46%.

TJX Companies announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 28th that permits the company to repurchase $2.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the apparel and home fashions retailer to reacquire up to 2.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on TJX. UBS Group raised shares of TJX Companies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $104.00 to $132.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 target price on shares of TJX Companies in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. BMO Capital Markets lifted 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. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of TJX Companies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $100.00 to $110.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic lowered TJX Companies from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $100.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Monday, February 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, TJX Companies presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $104.29.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Louise Greenlees sold 2,694 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 $4,968,480.59. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other TJX Companies news, CEO Ernie Herrman sold 20,000 shares of TJX Companies stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 515,801 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $51,053,982.98. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Louise Greenlees sold 2,694 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.83, for a total value of $266,248.02. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 50,273 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,968,480.59. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

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.