Manning & Napier Advisors LLC Buys 234,682 Shares of The TJX Companies, Inc. $TJX

Key Points

• Manning & Napier Advisors LLC increased its TJX stake by 45% in the fourth quarter, adding 234,682 shares to reach 756,014 shares valued at about $117.4 million.
• Institutional ownership remains very high, with hedge funds and other institutional investors holding 91.09% of TJX shares; several large firms also boosted positions during recent quarters.
• TJX reported stronger-than-expected results for the latest quarter, beating EPS and revenue estimates, and it also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.48 per share from $0.43.

Manning & Napier Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX - Free Report) by 45.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 756,014 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 234,682 shares during the quarter. TJX Companies comprises approximately 1.5% of Manning & Napier Advisors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest position. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.07% of TJX Companies worth $117,447,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in TJX Companies by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 102,733,668 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock valued at $15,780,919,000 after buying an additional 771,882 shares during the period. Capital International Investors boosted its position in TJX Companies by 4.2% during the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 15,678,165 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock valued at $2,266,066,000 after acquiring an additional 630,574 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in TJX Companies by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 13,391,533 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock worth $1,939,435,000 after acquiring an additional 392,097 shares during the period. Amundi grew its holdings in TJX Companies by 22.1% during the 3rd quarter. Amundi now owns 9,725,542 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock worth $1,391,822,000 after acquiring an additional 1,761,281 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in shares of TJX Companies by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 7,479,163 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock worth $1,155,830,000 after acquiring an additional 420,232 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.09% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at TJX Companies

In related news, CEO Ernie Herrman sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.95, for a total value of $4,828,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 479,316 shares in the company, valued at $77,145,910.20. This trade represents a 5.89% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on TJX. Wall Street Zen raised TJX Companies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, March 28th. Weiss Ratings upgraded TJX Companies from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (a-)" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. BTIG Research reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $185.00 price target (up from $165.00) on shares of TJX Companies in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Barclays increased their price target on TJX Companies from $172.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of TJX Companies from $154.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and twenty-one have assigned a Buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $167.55.

TJX Companies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE TJX opened at $153.29 on Friday. 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 firm's 50-day moving average price is $158.32 and its 200-day moving average price is $153.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $169.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.41, a P/E/G ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 0.64. The TJX Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $119.84 and a 1-year high of $165.82.

TJX Companies (NYSE:TJX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The apparel and home fashions retailer reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.38 by $0.05. TJX Companies had a return on equity of 57.70% and a net margin of 9.10%.The business had revenue of $17.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.36 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.23 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. 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. Equities research analysts anticipate that The TJX Companies, Inc. will post 5.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

TJX Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 4th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. 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%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 14th. TJX Companies's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding TJX? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.