Meyer Handelman Co. Reduces Stock Position in The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX)

Meyer Handelman Co. reduced its stake in shares of The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX - Free Report) by 2.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 178,070 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock after selling 4,087 shares during the period. Meyer Handelman Co.'s holdings in TJX Companies were worth $21,689,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in TJX. Bogart Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in TJX Companies in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. purchased a new stake in TJX Companies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new stake in TJX Companies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Promus Capital LLC purchased a new stake in TJX Companies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Tacita Capital Inc purchased a new stake in TJX Companies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. 91.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on TJX. BMO Capital Markets reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of TJX Companies in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $145.00 target price on shares of TJX Companies in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. 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. TD Securities upped their price objective on TJX Companies from $140.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating on shares of TJX Companies in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, TJX Companies presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $141.53.

Insider Transactions at TJX Companies

In other news, CEO Ernie Herrman sold 23,428 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.03, for a total value of $2,882,346.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 484,189 shares of the company's stock, valued at $59,569,772.67. This trade represents a 4.62% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

TJX Companies Stock Performance

Shares of TJX stock traded up $1.46 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $128.36. 6,270,310 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,258,446. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $126.88 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $123.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $143.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.94. The TJX Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $103.70 and a 12-month high of $135.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a current ratio of 1.19.

TJX Companies (NYSE:TJX - Get Free Report) last announced its 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 8.63% and a return on equity of 61.82%. The business had revenue of $13.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.01 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.93 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that The TJX Companies, Inc. will post 4.18 EPS for the current year.

TJX Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.425 per share. This is an increase from TJX Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.32%. TJX Companies's dividend payout ratio is 40.00%.

About TJX Companies

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.