The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX) Stock Position Cut by Two Sigma Investments LP

Two Sigma Investments LP cut its position in shares of The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX - Free Report) by 86.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 152,915 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock after selling 1,018,081 shares during the quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP's holdings in TJX Companies were worth $18,474,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Shell Asset Management Co. grew its stake in TJX Companies by 16.5% during the fourth 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 grew its stake in TJX Companies by 10.1% during the fourth 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 during the period. Ethic Inc. grew its stake 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 buying an additional 29,158 shares during the period. Fiduciary Trust Co grew its stake in TJX Companies by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Fiduciary Trust Co now owns 2,891,186 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock worth $349,284,000 after buying an additional 144,113 shares during the period. Finally, Congress Asset Management Co. grew its stake in TJX Companies by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 1,228,840 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock worth $148,456,000 after buying an additional 13,036 shares during the period. 91.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on TJX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of TJX Companies from $127.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of TJX Companies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $164.00 target price (up from $154.00) on shares of TJX Companies in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. TD Securities boosted their target price 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, Loop Capital set a $150.00 target price on shares of TJX Companies and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. One research 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 currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $140.65.

TJX Companies Stock Performance

TJX stock traded down $1.10 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $126.86. 1,042,925 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,322,282. The company has a quick ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The TJX Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $101.01 and a 52 week high of $135.85. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $126.39 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $123.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $141.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.94.

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 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 firm had revenue of $13.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.01 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.93 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that The TJX Companies, Inc. will post 4.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

TJX Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.425 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.34%. This is a positive change from TJX Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. TJX Companies's dividend payout ratio is currently 40.00%.

Insider Transactions at TJX Companies

In other news, Director Alan M. Bennett sold 8,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.53, for a total transaction of $988,240.00. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Ernie Herrman sold 23,428 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 484,189 shares of the company's stock, valued at $59,569,772.67. This represents a 4.62% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

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.