Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Acquires Shares of 1,131,968 The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX)

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new position in The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 1,131,968 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock, valued at approximately $136,753,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH owned approximately 0.10% of TJX Companies at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in TJX Companies by 0.6% during the 4th 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 buying an additional 578,948 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of TJX Companies by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 24,322,579 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock valued at $2,930,965,000 after buying an additional 464,995 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its position in 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 acquiring an additional 626,739 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 1,845,225 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of TJX Companies during the 4th quarter worth about $1,670,565,000. 91.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Ernie Herrman sold 23,428 shares of TJX Companies stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 484,189 shares in the company, valued at approximately $59,569,772.67. The trade was a 4.62% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

TJX has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of TJX Companies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $147.00 target price (up from $137.00) on shares of TJX Companies in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of TJX Companies in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of TJX Companies in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $145.00 price target on shares of TJX Companies in a 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $140.65.

TJX Companies Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of TJX traded down $0.28 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $126.79. The stock had a trading volume of 9,364,867 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,341,346. The firm has a 50-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. The company has a market cap of $141.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.94. The TJX Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $102.90 and a 52 week high of $135.85.

TJX Companies (NYSE:TJX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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. The company had revenue of $13.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $13.01 billion. TJX Companies had a net margin of 8.63% and a return on equity of 61.82%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter 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 business 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 a boost from TJX Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. 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%. TJX Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.