The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX) Shares Sold by Hudson Bay Capital Management LP

Hudson Bay Capital Management LP reduced its stake in shares of The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX - Free Report) by 32.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 41,066 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock after selling 19,836 shares during the quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP's holdings in TJX Companies were worth $4,961,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in TJX Companies in the fourth quarter worth about $1,670,565,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in TJX Companies in the fourth quarter worth about $570,342,000. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in TJX Companies by 689.6% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,595,085 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock worth $313,512,000 after acquiring an additional 2,266,415 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 1,845,225 shares during the period. Finally, DJE Kapital AG purchased a new stake in TJX Companies in the fourth quarter worth about $140,068,000. 91.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at TJX Companies

In related news, Director Alan M. Bennett sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.53, for a total value of $988,240.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Ernie Herrman sold 23,428 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.03, for a total value of $2,882,346.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 484,189 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $59,569,772.67. This represents a 4.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on TJX shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of TJX Companies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of TJX Companies from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday. Citigroup upgraded shares of TJX Companies from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $128.00 to $140.00 in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of TJX Companies from $136.00 to $133.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of TJX Companies from $136.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, TJX Companies presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $137.25.

TJX Companies Stock Performance

TJX Companies stock traded up $0.33 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $133.37. The company had a trading volume of 4,871,785 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,346,294. The TJX Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $97.53 and a 12-month high of $133.87. The company has a market capitalization of $148.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a current ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The company's fifty day moving average is $123.95 and its 200-day moving average is $122.76.

TJX Companies (NYSE:TJX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The apparel and home fashions retailer reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.16 by $0.07. TJX Companies had a return on equity of 61.82% and a net margin of 8.63%. The firm had revenue of $16.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.24 billion. Equities research analysts predict that The TJX Companies, Inc. will post 4.18 EPS for the current year.

TJX Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid 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 yield of 1.27%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. TJX Companies's dividend payout ratio is currently 39.91%.

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.