Columbia Asset Management Sells 250 Shares of The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX)

Columbia Asset Management lessened its holdings in shares of The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX) by 7.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,922 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock after selling 250 shares during the period. Columbia Asset Management’s holdings in TJX Companies were worth $274,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Anchor Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of TJX Companies in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of TJX Companies in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position in TJX Companies by 76.0% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 389 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. Sachetta LLC purchased a new position in TJX Companies in the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new position in TJX Companies in the 4th quarter worth about $40,000. Institutional investors own 91.09% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Ernie Herrman sold 20,000 shares of the 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, 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 transaction of $266,248.02. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 50,273 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,968,480.59. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available 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 directly owns 515,801 shares in the company, valued at approximately $51,053,982.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price 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 set a $112.00 price target on shares of TJX Companies in a research report on Friday. Redburn Atlantic lowered shares of TJX Companies from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $100.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Monday, February 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded TJX Companies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $100.00 to $110.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price objective on TJX Companies from $119.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $106.71.

TJX Companies Price Performance

Shares of TJX traded down $0.10 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $97.69. 3,449,320 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,075,685. The company has a market cap of $110.68 billion, a PE ratio of 25.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.87. The TJX Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $75.65 and a 52-week high of $102.84. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $97.08 and a two-hundred day moving average of $94.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 1.21.

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, beating the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.20 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.89 EPS. TJX Companies’s quarterly revenue was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that The TJX Companies, Inc. will post 4.1 earnings per share for the current year.

TJX Companies announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 28th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the apparel and home fashions retailer to buy up to 2.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be paid a $0.375 dividend. 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. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.54%. TJX Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.86%.

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.