Flossbach Von Storch AG Lowers Stock Position in The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX)

Flossbach Von Storch AG lowered its position in shares of The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX) by 14.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 190,933 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock after selling 32,126 shares during the quarter. Flossbach Von Storch AG’s holdings in TJX Companies were worth $17,911,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. lifted its position in 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 valued at $6,530,000 after buying an additional 19,236 shares during the period. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of TJX Companies by 3.7% during the fourth 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 acquiring an additional 21,767 shares in the last quarter. Savoir Faire Capital Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of TJX Companies during the third quarter valued at $3,197,000. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC increased its holdings in shares of TJX Companies by 42.9% during 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 acquiring an additional 5,737 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cape Cod Five Cents Savings Bank increased its holdings 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 valued at $13,239,000 after acquiring an additional 77,711 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.09% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on TJX. Redburn Atlantic downgraded TJX Companies from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $100.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Monday, February 5th. BMO Capital Markets raised 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 reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $105.00 target price on shares of TJX Companies in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on TJX Companies from $95.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $102.19.

TJX Companies Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of TJX stock traded down $0.28 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $93.10. The stock had a trading volume of 4,765,975 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,048,109. The TJX Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $75.65 and a 12-month high of $102.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $105.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.86. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $97.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $93.59. 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 issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The apparel and home fashions retailer reported $1.22 earnings per share 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.89 EPS. On average, analysts predict that The TJX Companies, Inc. will post 4.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

TJX Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be issued a $0.375 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 15th. This is a positive change from TJX Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.61%. TJX Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.46%.

TJX Companies declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, February 28th that allows the company to buyback $2.50 billion in outstanding 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 programs are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Ernie Herrman sold 20,000 shares of the 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $51,053,982.98. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related 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 transaction of $1,979,600.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 515,801 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $51,053,982.98. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 50,273 shares in the company, valued at $4,968,480.59. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

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.