Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC Cuts Holdings in The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX)

Key Points

• Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC reduced its stake in The TJX Companies by 7.0%, owning 130,432 shares as of the end of the 1st quarter.
• Various hedge funds have increased their investments in TJX Companies, with GAMMA Investing LLC boosting its stake by an astonishing 14,486.1% during the same quarter.
• TJX Companies announced a quarterly dividend of $0.425 per share, with the next payment scheduled for September 4th, representing an annual yield of 1.35%.

Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX - Free Report) by 7.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 130,432 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock after selling 9,836 shares during the period. TJX Companies makes up about 1.1% of Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest holding. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC's holdings in TJX Companies were worth $15,887,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in TJX Companies in the fourth quarter worth about $1,670,565,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of TJX Companies by 14,486.1% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,912,116 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock worth $354,696,000 after acquiring an additional 2,892,151 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 2,266,415 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 1,845,225 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 1,403,561 shares during the last quarter. 91.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

TJX has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of TJX Companies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Barclays reiterated 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. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $164.00 price objective (up from $154.00) on shares of TJX Companies in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of TJX Companies in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "equal weight" rating on shares of TJX Companies in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, TJX Companies presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $141.06.

TJX Companies Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of TJX opened at $126.23 on Friday. The company's fifty day moving average is $125.72 and its 200 day moving average is $124.24. The TJX Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $107.71 and a fifty-two week high of $135.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $141.01 billion, a PE ratio of 29.70, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.88. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 21st. The apparel and home fashions retailer reported $0.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.02. TJX Companies had a net margin of 8.47% and a return on equity of 58.81%. The company had revenue of $13.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $13.01 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.93 earnings per share. TJX Companies's quarterly revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that The TJX Companies, Inc. will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

TJX Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 4th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 14th will be given a dividend of $0.425 per share. This represents a $1.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 14th. TJX Companies's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.

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