Lazard Asset Management LLC Grows Stock Position in The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX)

Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX - Free Report) by 7.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 455,757 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 30,062 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC's holdings in TJX Companies were worth $55,059,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors raised its position in shares of TJX Companies by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors now owns 4,987 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock worth $603,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Nwam LLC raised its position in shares of TJX Companies by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Nwam LLC now owns 4,338 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock worth $524,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. One Charles Private Wealth Services LLC raised its position in shares of TJX Companies by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. One Charles Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 1,805 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock worth $218,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Breakwater Capital Group raised its position in shares of TJX Companies by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Breakwater Capital Group now owns 7,696 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock worth $930,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of TJX Companies by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 8,778 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock worth $1,060,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. 91.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at TJX Companies

In other 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 transaction of $988,240.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 484,189 shares of the company's stock, 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. Insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

TJX Companies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:TJX traded up $0.33 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $133.37. The stock had a trading volume of 4,871,785 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,353,315. 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 has a market cap of $148.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.94. The TJX Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $97.53 and a 1 year high of $133.87. The business's 50 day moving average price is $123.95 and its 200 day moving average price is $122.76.

TJX Companies (NYSE:TJX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The apparel and home fashions retailer reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $16.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.24 billion. Research analysts expect that The TJX Companies, Inc. will post 4.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

TJX Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.425 per share. This represents a $1.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This is a boost from TJX Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. TJX Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.91%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on TJX shares. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on TJX Companies from $133.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on TJX Companies from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on TJX Companies from $136.00 to $133.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $145.00 price target on shares of TJX Companies in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on TJX Companies from $136.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $137.25.

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.