Axa S.A. Raises Stock Holdings in The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX)

AXA S.A. grew its holdings in shares of The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX - Free Report) by 4.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,588,085 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 101,811 shares during the quarter. TJX Companies comprises about 0.9% of AXA S.A.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. AXA S.A. owned approximately 0.23% of TJX Companies worth $312,667,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Bogart Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of TJX Companies during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of TJX Companies during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. bought a new stake in shares of TJX Companies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of TJX Companies in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of TJX Companies in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.09% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at TJX Companies

In other news, CEO Ernie Herrman sold 23,428 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.03, for a total transaction of $2,882,346.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 484,189 shares of the company's stock, valued at $59,569,772.67. This trade represents a 4.62 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Alan M. Bennett sold 8,000 shares of the firm'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 corporate insiders.

TJX Companies Trading Down 0.2 %

NYSE TJX traded down $0.27 on Monday, hitting $128.95. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,869,492 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,351,738. The firm has a market cap of $144.04 billion, a PE ratio of 30.34, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.94. The company's 50-day moving average is $122.62 and its 200 day moving average is $122.01. The company has a quick ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The TJX Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $95.38 and a 1-year high of $131.30.

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

TJX Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a $0.425 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This is an increase from TJX Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. This represents a $1.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.32%. TJX Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.91%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on TJX. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on TJX Companies from $138.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of TJX Companies from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of TJX Companies from $148.00 to $151.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. StockNews.com cut shares of TJX Companies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on TJX Companies from $133.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $137.06.

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.