Ethic Inc. Buys 29,158 Shares of The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX)

Ethic Inc. increased its position in The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX - Free Report) by 21.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 167,169 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 29,158 shares during the period. Ethic Inc.'s holdings in TJX Companies were worth $20,196,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors increased its holdings in shares of TJX Companies by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors now owns 4,987 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock worth $603,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Nwam LLC raised its stake in shares of TJX Companies by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Nwam LLC now owns 4,338 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock valued at $524,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. One Charles Private Wealth Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of TJX Companies by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. One Charles Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 1,805 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock worth $218,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the period. Breakwater Capital Group grew its holdings in TJX Companies by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Breakwater Capital Group now owns 7,696 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock worth $930,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in TJX Companies by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 8,778 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock valued at $1,060,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the period. 91.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at TJX Companies

In other TJX Companies news, Director Alan M. Bennett sold 8,000 shares of the 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 document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Ernie Herrman sold 23,428 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 484,189 shares in the company, valued at approximately $59,569,772.67. This trade represents a 4.62% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

TJX Companies Stock Performance

TJX stock traded up $0.59 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $131.41. 3,068,487 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,336,864. The firm has a market capitalization of $146.80 billion, a PE ratio of 30.92, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.94. The business has a 50-day moving average of $123.40 and a two-hundred day moving average of $122.57. 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 52 week low of $97.53 and a 52 week high of $132.47.

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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.16 by $0.07. TJX Companies had a net margin of 8.63% and a return on equity of 61.82%. The business had revenue of $16.35 billion for 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 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 issued a dividend of $0.425 per share. This represents a $1.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.29%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This is a positive change from TJX Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. TJX Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.91%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on TJX. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on TJX Companies from $136.00 to $133.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of TJX Companies from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Citigroup upgraded TJX Companies from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $128.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. StockNews.com upgraded TJX Companies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of TJX Companies from $138.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $137.25.

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.