Bigelow Investment Advisors LLC Increases Position in The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX)

Bigelow Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX) by 1.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,927 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the period. Bigelow Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in TJX Companies were worth $1,213,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Fairfield Bush & CO. purchased a new position in TJX Companies in the first quarter worth $68,000. United Bank raised its stake in TJX Companies by 9.2% in the first quarter. United Bank now owns 15,197 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock worth $921,000 after buying an additional 1,284 shares in the last quarter. AMI Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of TJX Companies during the first quarter valued at approximately $2,780,000. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its stake in shares of TJX Companies by 69.0% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 38,304 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock valued at $2,320,000 after purchasing an additional 15,644 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of TJX Companies by 10.0% during the first 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.09% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at TJX Companies

In related news, EVP Louise Greenlees sold 2,694 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Louise Greenlees sold 2,694 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 50,273 shares in the company, valued at $4,968,480.59. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Ernie Herrman sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, 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 Stock Performance

Shares of TJX Companies stock traded up $0.70 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $93.36. The company had a trading volume of 6,016,771 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,037,759. The firm has a market cap of $105.77 billion, a PE ratio of 24.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.86. The TJX Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $75.65 and a one year high of $102.84. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $97.69 and a 200 day simple moving average of $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 released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 28th. The apparel and home fashions retailer reported $1.22 EPS 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 analysts’ expectations of $16.20 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.89 earnings per share. TJX Companies’s revenue was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that The TJX Companies, Inc. will post 4.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

TJX Companies Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

TJX has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Redburn Atlantic downgraded shares of TJX Companies from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $100.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $105.00 price objective on shares of TJX Companies in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of TJX Companies from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of TJX Companies from $95.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $102.19.

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.