Benjamin Edwards Inc. Acquires 3,843 Shares of The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX)

Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its stake in shares of The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX - Free Report) by 3.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 116,433 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock after buying an additional 3,843 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc.'s holdings in TJX Companies were worth $14,074,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of TJX. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of TJX Companies by 3.6% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,964,220 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock valued at $230,874,000 after purchasing an additional 69,064 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in TJX Companies by 13.3% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 7,031,237 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock valued at $850,428,000 after buying an additional 827,103 shares during the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC grew its holdings in TJX Companies by 7.3% during the 4th quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 3,774 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock valued at $456,000 after buying an additional 258 shares in the last quarter. Iowa State Bank increased its stake in TJX Companies by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Iowa State Bank now owns 16,440 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock worth $1,986,000 after acquiring an additional 279 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Canandaigua National Trust Co of Florida raised its holdings in shares of TJX Companies by 24.8% during the 4th quarter. Canandaigua National Trust Co of Florida now owns 5,994 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock worth $724,000 after acquiring an additional 1,192 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.09% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on TJX shares. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of TJX Companies from $136.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of TJX Companies from $138.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of TJX Companies from $125.00 to $115.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Citigroup raised TJX Companies from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $128.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on TJX Companies from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $137.06.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Ernie Herrman sold 23,428 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 484,189 shares of the company's stock, valued at $59,569,772.67. The trade was a 4.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Alan M. Bennett sold 8,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.53, for a total value of $988,240.00. 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 NYSE:TJX opened at $129.23 on Monday. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $122.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $121.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a current ratio of 1.19. The TJX Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $95.38 and a one year high of $131.30. The firm has a market cap of $144.36 billion, a PE ratio of 30.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.86.

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

TJX Companies Increases Dividend

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

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding TJX? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.