Earnest Partners LLC Sells 22,281 Shares of The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX)

Earnest Partners LLC lessened its stake in shares of The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX - Free Report) by 3.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 577,320 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock after selling 22,281 shares during the quarter. Earnest Partners LLC owned about 0.05% of TJX Companies worth $69,746,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bogart Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of TJX Companies in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of TJX Companies during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. acquired a new stake in shares of TJX Companies in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new position in TJX Companies in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC acquired a new position in TJX Companies during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. 91.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, 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 value of $988,240.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Ernie Herrman sold 23,428 shares of the firm'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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 484,189 shares in the company, valued at approximately $59,569,772.67. This represents a 4.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

TJX Companies Price Performance

NYSE TJX traded up $0.62 on Wednesday, hitting $128.65. The stock had a trading volume of 5,684,446 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,365,321. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $122.28 and a 200-day moving average of $121.70. 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 52-week low of $93.39 and a 52-week high of $131.30. The company has a market capitalization of $143.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.27, 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 quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The apparel and home fashions retailer reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $16.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.24 billion. Equities analysts expect that The TJX Companies, Inc. will post 4.18 EPS for the current year.

TJX Companies Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on TJX shares. Barclays lifted their target price on TJX Companies from $136.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of TJX Companies from $133.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Citigroup raised shares of TJX Companies from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $128.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $145.00 target price on shares of TJX Companies in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on TJX Companies from $148.00 to $151.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. One investment analyst has 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 $137.06.

About TJX Companies

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.