Advisors Capital Management LLC Sells 19,796 Shares of The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX)

Advisors Capital Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX - Free Report) by 4.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 444,327 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock after selling 19,796 shares during the quarter. TJX Companies comprises approximately 0.8% of Advisors Capital Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 28th largest position. Advisors Capital Management LLC's holdings in TJX Companies were worth $53,679,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of TJX. Congress Asset Management Co. raised its stake in shares of TJX Companies by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 1,228,840 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock worth $148,456,000 after buying an additional 13,036 shares in the last quarter. Atlas Legacy Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of TJX Companies during the 4th quarter valued at about $433,000. BLB&B Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of TJX Companies by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. BLB&B Advisors LLC now owns 81,079 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock worth $9,795,000 after purchasing an additional 2,201 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in TJX Companies by 12.1% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 34,186 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock valued at $4,130,000 after purchasing an additional 3,691 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boyd Watterson Asset Management LLC OH bought a new stake in TJX Companies during the fourth quarter worth approximately $604,000. 91.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

TJX Companies Stock Performance

NYSE:TJX traded up $1.40 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $127.71. The stock had a trading volume of 3,028,314 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,445,969. The stock has a market capitalization of $142.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.03, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.19 and a quick ratio of 0.50. The TJX Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $92.35 and a 1-year high of $131.30. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $121.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $120.86.

TJX Companies (NYSE:TJX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The apparel and home fashions retailer reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.16 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $16.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.24 billion. TJX Companies had a return on equity of 61.82% and a net margin of 8.63%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that The TJX Companies, Inc. will post 4.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

TJX Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.425 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This is a boost from TJX Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. This represents a $1.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.33%. TJX Companies's payout ratio is currently 39.91%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on TJX. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on TJX Companies from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of TJX Companies from $138.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. UBS Group increased their target price on TJX Companies from $148.00 to $151.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on TJX Companies from $133.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded TJX Companies from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the company from $128.00 to $140.00 in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $135.76.

Insider Activity at TJX Companies

In other news, CEO Ernie Herrman sold 23,428 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.03, for a total value of $2,882,346.84. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 484,189 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $59,569,772.67. This represents a 4.62 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Alan M. Bennett sold 8,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.53, for a total transaction of $988,240.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.