Tufton Capital Management Reduces Stock Position in The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX)

Tufton Capital Management lowered its holdings in The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX - Free Report) by 2.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 131,122 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock after selling 2,991 shares during the period. TJX Companies comprises about 3.1% of Tufton Capital Management's portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest holding. Tufton Capital Management's holdings in TJX Companies were worth $15,971,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Shell Asset Management Co. boosted its holdings in shares of TJX Companies by 16.5% during the 4th quarter. Shell Asset Management Co. now owns 29,168 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock worth $3,524,000 after buying an additional 4,128 shares during the period. Pathstone Holdings LLC raised its stake in TJX Companies by 10.1% in the 4th quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 736,616 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock worth $88,992,000 after purchasing an additional 67,853 shares in the last quarter. Ethic Inc. raised its stake in TJX Companies by 21.1% in the 4th quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 167,169 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock worth $20,196,000 after purchasing an additional 29,158 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Trust Co raised its stake in TJX Companies by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Fiduciary Trust Co now owns 2,891,186 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock worth $349,284,000 after purchasing an additional 144,113 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc raised its stake in TJX Companies by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc now owns 387,342 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock worth $46,989,000 after purchasing an additional 8,319 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.09% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Amy B. Lane sold 950 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.09, for a total transaction of $121,685.50. Following the sale, the director owned 22,712 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,909,180.08. The trade was a 4.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of TJX Companies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Daiwa Capital Markets began coverage on shares of TJX Companies in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $133.00 target price for the company. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of TJX Companies from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. TD Securities upped their price objective on shares of TJX Companies from $140.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of TJX Companies in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. One 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, TJX Companies has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $141.06.

TJX Companies Price Performance

Shares of TJX stock traded up $0.03 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $126.29. 5,143,166 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,623,807. The company has a market capitalization of $141.07 billion, a PE ratio of 29.71, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.88. The TJX Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $107.71 and a 12-month high of $135.85. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $125.58 and its 200-day simple moving average is $124.30. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

TJX Companies (NYSE:TJX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 21st. The apparel and home fashions retailer reported $0.92 EPS 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 firm had revenue of $13.11 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.01 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.93 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that The TJX Companies, Inc. will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current year.

TJX Companies Dividend Announcement

The business 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. This represents a $1.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.35%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 14th. TJX Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.