Trust Investment Advisors Trims Stake in The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX)

Trust Investment Advisors lessened its holdings in The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX) by 11.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 20,592 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock after selling 2,588 shares during the period. TJX Companies accounts for approximately 1.5% of Trust Investment Advisors’ holdings, making the stock its 13th largest holding. Trust Investment Advisors’ holdings in TJX Companies were worth $1,932,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of TJX. Fairfield Bush & CO. purchased a new position in shares of TJX Companies during the first quarter worth $68,000. United Bank lifted its stake in TJX Companies by 9.2% during the 1st quarter. United Bank now owns 15,197 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock worth $921,000 after acquiring an additional 1,284 shares in the last quarter. AMI Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in TJX Companies during the 1st quarter valued at about $2,780,000. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its holdings in TJX Companies by 69.0% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 38,304 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock valued at $2,320,000 after acquiring an additional 15,644 shares during the period. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in TJX Companies by 10.0% in the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 4,396 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock valued at $266,000 after acquiring an additional 398 shares in the last quarter. 91.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

TJX has been the subject of several recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of 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 shares of TJX Companies from $95.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research 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 research 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 thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $102.19.

Insider Transactions at TJX Companies

In other news, CEO Ernie Herrman sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 21st. The shares were 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 directly owns 515,801 shares in the company, valued at $51,053,982.98. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Ernie Herrman sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $51,053,982.98. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Louise Greenlees sold 2,694 shares of the company’s 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 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.

TJX Companies Stock Performance

TJX stock traded down $0.47 during trading on Thursday, hitting $92.66. The company had a trading volume of 3,290,774 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,024,710. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $97.80 and a 200-day moving average price of $93.59. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The firm has a market cap of $104.98 billion, a PE ratio of 24.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.86. The TJX Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $75.65 and a 1-year high of $102.84.

TJX Companies (NYSE:TJX) last released its earnings results 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 return on equity of 64.18% and a net margin of 8.25%. The business had revenue of $16.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.20 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.89 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that The TJX Companies, Inc. will post 4.07 earnings per share for the current year.

TJX Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. 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 1.62%. This is an increase from TJX Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. TJX Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 38.86%.

TJX Companies announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program 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 reacquire up to 2.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.