Madison Asset Management LLC Sells 30,349 Shares of The TJX Companies, Inc. $TJX

Key Points

• Madison Asset Management trimmed its TJX position by 6.3% in the fourth quarter, selling 30,349 shares and ending with 449,390 shares valued at about $69.0 million.
• Despite the sale, institutional ownership remains heavy, with 91.09% of TJX shares held by institutions, and several other funds also added to or increased their stakes.
• TJX has positive analyst and business momentum: multiple firms raised ratings or price targets, the company beat quarterly earnings expectations, and it increased its quarterly dividend to $0.48 per share.

Madison Asset Management LLC reduced its position in The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX - Free Report) by 6.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 449,390 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock after selling 30,349 shares during the period. Madison Asset Management LLC's holdings in TJX Companies were worth $69,031,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. World Investment Advisors increased its stake in TJX Companies by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 86,309 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock worth $12,474,000 after acquiring an additional 1,467 shares during the last quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al boosted its position in shares of TJX Companies by 24.1% during the 4th quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al now owns 234,000 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock valued at $35,945,000 after acquiring an additional 45,400 shares during the last quarter. Northeast Investment Management boosted its position in shares of TJX Companies by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Northeast Investment Management now owns 147,833 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock valued at $22,709,000 after acquiring an additional 4,510 shares during the last quarter. Argos Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of TJX Companies in the fourth quarter valued at $255,000. Finally, Meridian Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of TJX Companies by 50.8% in the fourth quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 16,786 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock valued at $2,579,000 after purchasing an additional 5,653 shares in the last quarter. 91.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on TJX shares. Barclays upped their price target on shares of TJX Companies from $172.00 to $183.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of TJX Companies from a "buy (a-)" rating to a "buy (b+)" rating in a research note on Friday. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of TJX Companies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, March 28th. Telsey Advisory Group increased their price target on shares of TJX Companies from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Argus upgraded TJX Companies to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and twenty-two have issued a Buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $167.55.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Ernie Herrman sold 30,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.95, for a total transaction of $4,828,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 479,316 shares in the company, valued at $77,145,910.20. The trade was a 5.89% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

TJX Companies Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of TJX opened at $150.37 on Wednesday. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $157.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $154.11. The company has a market cap of $166.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.81, a P/E/G ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The TJX Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $119.84 and a twelve month high of $165.82.

TJX Companies (NYSE:TJX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The apparel and home fashions retailer reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.38 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $17.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $17.36 billion. TJX Companies had a net margin of 9.10% and a return on equity of 57.70%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.23 EPS. TJX Companies has set its FY 2027 guidance at 4.930-5.020 EPS and its Q1 2027 guidance at 0.970-0.990 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that The TJX Companies, Inc. will post 5.06 EPS for the current year.

TJX Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 4th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 14th will be issued a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 14th. This is a positive change from TJX Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. TJX Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.84%.

About TJX Companies

TJX Companies, Inc is a leading off-price retailer of apparel, footwear, home fashions and other consumer goods. The company operates multiple retail concepts that offer discounted brand-name and designer merchandise, including well-known banners such as T.J. Maxx and Marshalls in the United States, HomeGoods for home furnishings, TK Maxx in parts of Europe, and Winners and Homesense in Canada. Merchandise categories span women's, men's and children's apparel, accessories, beauty, home décor, kitchenware and small furniture, with frequent changes in assortment that create a “treasure-hunt” shopping experience for consumers.

The company's business model centers on opportunistic buying, purchasing excess, irregular or out-of-season inventory from manufacturers, department stores and other suppliers, and passing savings to customers through lower prices.

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