Boston Common Asset Management LLC Buys 11,867 Shares of The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX)

Boston Common Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX - Free Report) by 6.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 196,481 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 11,867 shares during the quarter. Boston Common Asset Management LLC's holdings in TJX Companies were worth $23,931,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Park National Corp OH grew its stake in TJX Companies by 7.1% in the first quarter. Park National Corp OH now owns 280,277 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock valued at $34,138,000 after acquiring an additional 18,699 shares during the period. Prostatis Group LLC grew its stake in TJX Companies by 14.3% in the fourth quarter. Prostatis Group LLC now owns 2,275 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock valued at $275,000 after acquiring an additional 285 shares during the period. DSG Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in TJX Companies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $4,713,000. Chancellor Financial Group WB LP acquired a new stake in TJX Companies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $249,000. Finally, 111 Capital acquired a new stake in TJX Companies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,074,000. 91.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

TJX Companies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:TJX traded up $0.45 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $127.35. 1,823,403 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,466,759. 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 12 month low of $103.70 and a 12 month high of $135.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $142.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.94. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $126.88 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $123.88.

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

TJX Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a $0.425 dividend. This is a positive change from TJX Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. This represents a $1.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. TJX Companies's dividend payout ratio is currently 40.00%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Ernie Herrman sold 23,428 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.03, for a total transaction of $2,882,346.84. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 484,189 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $59,569,772.67. This trade represents a 4.62% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on TJX. Citigroup raised TJX Companies from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of TJX Companies in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of TJX Companies in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. TD Securities lifted 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on TJX Companies from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, TJX Companies presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $141.53.

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.