The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX) Shares Bought by Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc.

Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. boosted its stake in shares of The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX) by 848.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 102,825 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 91,987 shares during the period. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc.’s holdings in TJX Companies were worth $9,646,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in TJX. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of TJX Companies by 0.4% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 95,135,688 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock worth $8,455,660,000 after buying an additional 392,783 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of TJX Companies by 13.1% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 52,008,484 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock worth $4,622,514,000 after buying an additional 6,036,764 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its holdings in shares of TJX Companies by 1.5% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 24,752,978 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock worth $2,200,045,000 after buying an additional 371,163 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of TJX Companies by 2.3% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 13,734,141 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock worth $1,220,690,000 after buying an additional 313,530 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC grew its holdings in shares of TJX Companies by 0.9% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 9,054,237 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock worth $804,741,000 after buying an additional 83,643 shares in the last quarter. 91.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at TJX Companies

In related news, EVP Louise Greenlees sold 2,694 shares of TJX Companies stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 50,273 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,968,480.59. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, EVP Louise Greenlees sold 2,694 shares of TJX Companies stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 50,273 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,968,480.59. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, 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 transaction of $1,979,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 515,801 shares in the company, valued at $51,053,982.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

TJX Companies Stock Up 0.2 %

TJX Companies stock traded up $0.20 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $95.11. The company had a trading volume of 5,085,017 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,082,808. The stock has a market cap of $107.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.64, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.87. The TJX Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $75.65 and a 1 year high of $102.84. 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 business has a fifty day moving average of $97.03 and a 200 day moving average of $94.02.

TJX Companies (NYSE:TJX) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The apparel and home fashions retailer reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $16.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.20 billion. TJX Companies had a net margin of 8.25% and a return on equity of 64.18%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.89 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that The TJX Companies, Inc. will post 4.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

TJX Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be given a dividend of $0.375 per share. 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 1.58%. TJX Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.46%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on TJX. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of TJX Companies from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. UBS Group raised shares of TJX Companies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $104.00 to $132.00 in a report on Thursday. Redburn Atlantic lowered shares of 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. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $105.00 price objective on shares of TJX Companies in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of TJX Companies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $100.00 to $110.00 in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $104.29.

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.