AGF Management Ltd. Lowers Stake in The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX)

Key Points

• AGF Management Ltd. has reduced its stake in The TJX Companies, Inc. by 2.8%, selling 42,449 shares, while retaining a total of 1,494,648 shares valued at approximately $182 million.
• Institutional investors now hold over 91% of TJX's shares, indicating strong institutional interest in the company.
• Several analysts have updated their ratings, with Barclays increasing its price target to $147, reflecting growing confidence in TJX's financial performance.

AGF Management Ltd. lessened its holdings in shares of The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX - Free Report) by 2.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,494,648 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock after selling 42,449 shares during the period. TJX Companies makes up about 1.0% of AGF Management Ltd.'s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. AGF Management Ltd. owned about 0.13% of TJX Companies worth $182,048,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in TJX Companies in the first quarter worth about $1,330,717,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of TJX Companies by 14,486.1% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,912,116 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock valued at $354,696,000 after acquiring an additional 2,892,151 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings in shares of TJX Companies by 689.6% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,595,085 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock valued at $313,512,000 after acquiring an additional 2,266,415 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of TJX Companies by 15.2% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 13,985,826 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock valued at $1,689,628,000 after purchasing an additional 1,845,225 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted its stake in TJX Companies by 12.9% in the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 12,300,919 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock worth $1,486,074,000 after purchasing an additional 1,403,561 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.09% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at TJX Companies

In other news, Director Amy B. Lane sold 950 shares of TJX Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.09, for a total value of $121,685.50. Following the sale, the director directly owned 22,712 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,909,180.08. The trade was a 4.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

TJX Companies Stock Performance

Shares of TJX traded down $1.11 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $132.99. The stock had a trading volume of 3,763,205 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,292,755. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $125.72 and a 200 day moving average price of $124.99. The TJX Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $110.24 and a fifty-two week high of $135.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $148.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.29, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a current ratio of 1.16.

TJX Companies (NYSE:TJX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 21st. The apparel and home fashions retailer reported $0.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.02. TJX Companies had a net margin of 8.47% and a return on equity of 58.81%. The business had revenue of $13.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.01 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.93 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that The TJX Companies, Inc. will post 4.18 EPS for the current year.

TJX Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 4th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 14th will be issued a $0.425 dividend. This represents a $1.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 14th. TJX Companies's payout ratio is presently 40.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on TJX shares. Barclays restated an "overweight" rating and set a $147.00 price target (up previously from $137.00) on shares of TJX Companies in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. TD Securities upped their target price on TJX Companies from $140.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $150.00 price target on shares of TJX Companies in a research report on Wednesday. Daiwa Capital Markets started coverage on TJX Companies in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $133.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Macquarie restated a "buy" rating on shares of TJX Companies in a research note on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $141.33.

TJX Companies Company 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.