The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX) Shares Sold by Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC lowered its holdings in shares of The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX - Free Report) by 14.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 116,180 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock after selling 19,111 shares during the quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC's holdings in TJX Companies were worth $14,036,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in TJX Companies by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 99,314,635 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock valued at $11,998,201,000 after purchasing an additional 578,948 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in TJX Companies by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 24,322,579 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock worth $2,930,965,000 after acquiring an additional 464,995 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its position in TJX Companies by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 14,647,792 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock valued at $1,769,600,000 after purchasing an additional 626,739 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of TJX Companies in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,670,565,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of TJX Companies by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 8,753,021 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock worth $1,057,452,000 after purchasing an additional 363,879 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 91.09% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

TJX Companies Stock Down 0.3 %

NYSE:TJX traded down $0.40 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $128.28. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,223,309 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,349,081. The TJX Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $93.39 and a 12 month high of $131.30. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $122.28 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $121.70. The company has a market capitalization of $143.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a current ratio of 1.19.

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

TJX Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a $0.425 dividend. This is a boost from TJX Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.33%. TJX Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.91%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

TJX has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Barclays raised their price target on TJX Companies from $136.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of TJX Companies from $125.00 to $115.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Citigroup raised shares of TJX Companies from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $128.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on TJX Companies from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded TJX Companies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $137.06.

TJX Companies 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.