Elefante Mark B Buys Shares of 29,300 The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX)

Elefante Mark B bought a new position in shares of The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 29,300 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock, valued at approximately $3,540,000. TJX Companies makes up 3.2% of Elefante Mark B's investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest holding.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of TJX. Bogart Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of TJX Companies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC bought a new position in shares of TJX Companies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. bought a new position in shares of TJX Companies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new position in shares of TJX Companies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of TJX Companies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. 91.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

TJX Companies Stock Performance

Shares of TJX traded up $3.33 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $131.43. 4,810,374 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,340,268. The TJX Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $97.53 and a twelve month high of $131.58. 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 company has a market cap of $146.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.93, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.94. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $123.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $122.39.

TJX Companies (NYSE:TJX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The apparel and home fashions retailer reported $1.23 earnings per share 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.24 billion. On average, sell-side analysts expect that The TJX Companies, Inc. will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current 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 issued a dividend of $0.425 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.29%. This is an increase from TJX Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. TJX Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.91%.

Insider Transactions at TJX Companies

In related news, Director Alan M. Bennett sold 8,000 shares of the firm'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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, 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 value of $2,882,346.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 484,189 shares in the company, valued at $59,569,772.67. The trade was a 4.62% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on TJX. Citigroup raised shares of TJX Companies from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $128.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on TJX Companies from $136.00 to $133.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. StockNews.com downgraded TJX Companies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on TJX Companies from $125.00 to $115.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on TJX Companies from $138.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $136.94.

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.