The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX) Shares Sold by Farmers Trust Co.

Farmers Trust Co. trimmed its holdings in shares of The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX - Free Report) by 27.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 30,955 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock after selling 11,729 shares during the quarter. Farmers Trust Co.'s holdings in TJX Companies were worth $3,770,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of TJX Companies by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 99,314,635 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock worth $11,998,201,000 after purchasing an additional 578,948 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of TJX Companies by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 24,322,579 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock worth $2,930,965,000 after buying an additional 464,995 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in shares of TJX Companies by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 14,647,792 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock worth $1,769,600,000 after buying an additional 626,739 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of TJX Companies by 15.2% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 13,985,826 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock worth $1,689,628,000 after buying an additional 1,845,225 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of TJX Companies in the fourth quarter worth $1,670,565,000. 91.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Ernie Herrman sold 23,428 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.03, for a total transaction 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on TJX shares. Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $147.00 target price (up previously from $137.00) on shares of TJX Companies in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of TJX Companies from $127.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Loop Capital set a $150.00 price target on shares of TJX Companies and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of TJX Companies in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, TD Securities upped their price target on shares of TJX Companies from $140.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, TJX Companies currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $140.65.

TJX Companies Stock Down 0.2%

TJX Companies stock traded down $0.28 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $126.79. The company had a trading volume of 9,364,867 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,254,415. The stock has a market cap of $141.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.83, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.94. The TJX Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $103.70 and a 1 year high of $135.85. The business has a fifty day moving average of $126.88 and a 200 day moving average of $123.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

TJX Companies (NYSE:TJX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 21st. The apparel and home fashions retailer reported $0.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $13.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.01 billion. TJX Companies had a return on equity of 61.82% and a net margin of 8.63%. The company's revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.93 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that The TJX Companies, Inc. will post 4.18 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 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a $0.425 dividend. This is an increase from TJX Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. This represents a $1.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.34%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. TJX Companies's dividend payout ratio is presently 40.00%.

TJX Companies 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.