Insider Selling: The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX) Director Sells 950 Shares of Stock

The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX - Get Free Report) Director Amy B. Lane sold 950 shares of TJX Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.09, for a total value of $121,685.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 22,712 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,909,180.08. This represents a 4.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

TJX Companies Trading Up 0.9%

TJX traded up $1.15 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $128.52. 1,838,588 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,231,923. The firm has a market capitalization of $143.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.26, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.90. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $127.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $124.05. 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 1-year low of $106.18 and a 1-year high of $135.85.

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 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.02. TJX Companies had a net margin of 8.63% and a return on equity of 61.82%. The company had revenue of $13.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.01 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.93 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that The TJX Companies, Inc. will post 4.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

TJX Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th were paid a dividend of $0.425 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.32%. This is a boost from TJX Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. TJX Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 40.00%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On TJX Companies

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in TJX Companies in the fourth quarter worth $1,670,565,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of TJX Companies in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,330,717,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in TJX Companies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $570,342,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in TJX Companies by 14,486.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,912,116 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock worth $354,696,000 after acquiring an additional 2,892,151 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors grew 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 valued at $313,512,000 after acquiring an additional 2,266,415 shares during the period. 91.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on TJX. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of TJX Companies in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $145.00 target price on shares of TJX Companies in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Barclays restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $147.00 price target (up previously from $137.00) on shares of TJX Companies in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. TD Securities lifted their price objective 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, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of TJX Companies from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $141.53.

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.