American Trust Sells 2,098 Shares of The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX)

American Trust reduced its position in The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX - Free Report) by 3.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 55,615 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock after selling 2,098 shares during the quarter. American Trust's holdings in TJX Companies were worth $6,719,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of TJX Companies during the fourth quarter valued at $1,670,565,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of TJX Companies during the 4th quarter worth about $570,342,000. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in shares of TJX Companies by 689.6% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,595,085 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock worth $313,512,000 after buying an additional 2,266,415 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of TJX Companies by 15.2% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 13,985,826 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock worth $1,689,628,000 after buying an additional 1,845,225 shares during the period. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in shares of TJX Companies by 12.9% during 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 buying an additional 1,403,561 shares during the period. 91.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at TJX Companies

In related news, CEO Ernie Herrman sold 23,428 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.03, for a total transaction of $2,882,346.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 484,189 shares of the company's stock, valued at $59,569,772.67. This trade represents a 4.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

TJX has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Barclays reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $147.00 price objective (up from $137.00) on shares of TJX Companies in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of TJX Companies in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. UBS Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $164.00 price target (up previously from $154.00) on shares of TJX Companies in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Morgan Stanley set a $140.00 price target on TJX Companies and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of TJX Companies in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $140.65.

TJX Companies Price Performance

NYSE:TJX traded up $0.82 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $127.04. The company's stock had a trading volume of 6,410,516 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,340,342. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $126.59 and a 200-day simple moving average of $123.73. The TJX Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $101.01 and a twelve month high of $135.85. The company has a market capitalization of $141.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.89, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.19 and a quick ratio of 0.50.

TJX Companies (NYSE:TJX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 21st. The apparel and home fashions retailer reported $0.92 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.02. TJX Companies had a return on equity of 61.82% and a net margin of 8.63%. The firm had revenue of $13.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.01 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.93 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that The TJX Companies, Inc. will post 4.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

TJX Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.425 per share. This represents a $1.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.34%. This is an increase from TJX Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. TJX Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.00%.

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.