Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. Acquires 7,360 Shares of The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX)

Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. increased its stake in shares of The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX - Free Report) by 281.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,979 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 7,360 shares during the period. Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC.'s holdings in TJX Companies were worth $1,252,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of TJX. Shell Asset Management Co. grew its stake in TJX Companies by 16.5% in the fourth quarter. Shell Asset Management Co. now owns 29,168 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock valued at $3,524,000 after acquiring an additional 4,128 shares during the period. Pathstone Holdings LLC lifted its position in TJX Companies by 10.1% during 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 buying an additional 67,853 shares in the last quarter. Ethic Inc. raised its holdings in TJX Companies by 21.1% during the fourth quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 167,169 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock worth $20,196,000 after acquiring an additional 29,158 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Trust Co boosted its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $349,284,000 after buying an additional 144,113 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pennington Partners & CO. LLC acquired a new stake in TJX Companies in the fourth quarter valued at $257,000. 91.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on TJX Companies from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. UBS Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $164.00 price target (up previously from $154.00) on shares of TJX Companies in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. TD Securities raised their price target on TJX Companies from $140.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "equal weight" rating on shares of TJX Companies in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of TJX Companies from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $141.53.

Insider Activity at TJX Companies

In related news, Director Amy B. Lane sold 950 shares of TJX Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.09, for a total value of $121,685.50. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 22,712 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,909,180.08. This trade represents a 4.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

TJX Companies Price Performance

Shares of TJX stock traded up $1.68 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $125.17. The company had a trading volume of 5,078,603 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,193,621. The firm has a market capitalization of $139.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.90. The TJX Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $107.71 and a one year high of $135.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a current ratio of 1.16. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $127.20 and its 200 day moving average price is $123.97.

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 for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.02. TJX Companies had a return on equity of 58.81% and a net margin of 8.47%. The firm had revenue of $13.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.01 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.93 EPS. The company's revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that The TJX Companies, Inc. will post 4.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

TJX Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 4th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 14th will be given a $0.425 dividend. This represents a $1.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 14th. TJX Companies's payout ratio is presently 40.00%.

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.