Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Boosts Stake in The TJX Companies, Inc. $TJX

Key Points

• Thrivent Financial for Lutherans more than doubled its position in TJX Companies in the fourth quarter, increasing its holdings by 100.2% to 103,615 shares valued at about $15.9 million.
• Institutional ownership remains very high, with hedge funds and other institutional investors holding 91.09% of TJX stock; several large firms, including Vanguard and Capital International Investors, also boosted their stakes.
• TJX reported strong quarterly results, beating EPS and revenue estimates, and it raised its quarterly dividend from $0.43 to $0.48 per share, while analysts largely remain bullish with a consensus “Buy” rating.

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its position in shares of The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX - Free Report) by 100.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 103,615 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 51,865 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans' holdings in TJX Companies were worth $15,932,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in TJX Companies by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 102,733,668 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock worth $15,780,919,000 after buying an additional 771,882 shares during the period. Capital International Investors raised its stake in shares of TJX Companies by 4.2% in the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 15,678,165 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock valued at $2,266,066,000 after acquiring an additional 630,574 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of TJX Companies by 3.0% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 13,391,533 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock valued at $1,939,435,000 after acquiring an additional 392,097 shares during the period. Amundi lifted its holdings in shares of TJX Companies by 22.1% in the 3rd quarter. Amundi now owns 9,725,542 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock worth $1,391,822,000 after acquiring an additional 1,761,281 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in shares of TJX Companies by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 7,479,163 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock worth $1,155,830,000 after acquiring an additional 420,232 shares during the last quarter. 91.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Ernie Herrman sold 30,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.95, for a total value of $4,828,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 479,316 shares in the company, valued at $77,145,910.20. This trade represents a 5.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on TJX shares. Truist Financial initiated coverage on TJX Companies in a research report on Monday. They set a "buy" rating and a $175.00 target price for the company. Argus upgraded TJX Companies to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. BTIG Research reissued a "buy" rating and set a $185.00 price target (up from $165.00) on shares of TJX Companies in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. UBS Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of TJX Companies in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on TJX Companies from $172.00 to $183.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and twenty-three have issued a Buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $167.95.

TJX Companies Price Performance

NYSE TJX opened at $150.26 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 1.14. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $156.86 and its 200-day moving average price is $154.26. The TJX Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $119.84 and a 52-week high of $165.82. The company has a market cap of $166.15 billion, a PE ratio of 30.79, a P/E/G ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.64.

TJX Companies (NYSE:TJX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The apparel and home fashions retailer reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.38 by $0.05. TJX Companies had a return on equity of 57.70% and a net margin of 9.10%.The company had revenue of $17.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.36 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.23 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. TJX Companies has set its FY 2027 guidance at 4.930-5.020 EPS and its Q1 2027 guidance at 0.970-0.990 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that The TJX Companies, Inc. will post 5.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

TJX Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 4th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 14th will be paid a $0.48 dividend. This is a positive change from TJX Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 14th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. TJX Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.34%.

About TJX Companies

TJX Companies, Inc is a leading off-price retailer of apparel, footwear, home fashions and other consumer goods. The company operates multiple retail concepts that offer discounted brand-name and designer merchandise, including well-known banners such as T.J. Maxx and Marshalls in the United States, HomeGoods for home furnishings, TK Maxx in parts of Europe, and Winners and Homesense in Canada. Merchandise categories span women's, men's and children's apparel, accessories, beauty, home décor, kitchenware and small furniture, with frequent changes in assortment that create a “treasure-hunt” shopping experience for consumers.

The company's business model centers on opportunistic buying, purchasing excess, irregular or out-of-season inventory from manufacturers, department stores and other suppliers, and passing savings to customers through lower prices.

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