Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Trims Stake in The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX)

Key Points

• Maryland State Retirement & Pension System reduced its holdings in The TJX Companies by 13.1%, resulting in ownership of approximately 52,990 shares worth $6.45 million.
• Despite the decrease from Maryland's pension fund, other institutional investors increased their stakes in TJX, with TCTC Holdings LLC growing its position by 210.1%.
• Wall Street analysts have issued a consensus rating of "Buy" for TJX Companies, with a target price averaging $141.06 after several analysts raised their price objectives.

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System cut its position in The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX - Free Report) by 13.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 52,990 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock after selling 8,021 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System's holdings in TJX Companies were worth $6,454,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of TJX. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in shares of TJX Companies by 113.7% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 15,039 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock valued at $1,817,000 after purchasing an additional 8,002 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of TJX Companies by 12.1% in the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,172 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock worth $262,000 after buying an additional 235 shares during the last quarter. FIL Ltd boosted its stake in shares of TJX Companies by 12.6% in the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 147,680 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock worth $17,841,000 after buying an additional 16,492 shares during the last quarter. CenterBook Partners LP boosted its stake in shares of TJX Companies by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. CenterBook Partners LP now owns 15,943 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock worth $1,926,000 after buying an additional 447 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of TJX Companies by 20.6% in the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 113,198 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock worth $13,675,000 after buying an additional 19,300 shares during the last quarter. 91.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at TJX Companies

In related news, Director Amy B. Lane sold 950 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $2,909,180.08. This represents a 4.01% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

TJX Companies Stock Performance

NYSE TJX traded down $0.34 on Friday, hitting $131.64. 4,629,642 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,777,224. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 0.51. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $125.41 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $124.79. The TJX Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $107.71 and a fifty-two week high of $135.85. The firm has a market cap of $147.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.97, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.89.

TJX Companies (NYSE:TJX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 21st. The apparel and home fashions retailer reported $0.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $13.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $13.01 billion. TJX Companies had a return on equity of 58.81% and a net margin of 8.47%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.93 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that The TJX Companies, Inc. will post 4.18 EPS for the current year.

TJX Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 4th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 14th will be issued a $0.425 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 14th. This represents a $1.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. TJX Companies's dividend payout ratio is currently 40.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on TJX. UBS Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $164.00 target price (up previously from $154.00) on shares of TJX Companies in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Morgan Stanley set a $140.00 target price on TJX Companies and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $145.00 target price on shares of TJX Companies in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. TD Securities lifted their price objective on TJX Companies from $140.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "equal weight" rating on shares of TJX Companies in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $141.06.

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.