Costello Asset Management INC Purchases 17,475 Shares of The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX)

Costello Asset Management INC grew its position in shares of The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX - Free Report) by 4,660.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,850 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 17,475 shares during the quarter. TJX Companies accounts for 1.4% of Costello Asset Management INC's holdings, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. Costello Asset Management INC's holdings in TJX Companies were worth $1,675,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hartford Financial Management Inc. boosted its stake in TJX Companies by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 16,396 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock valued at $1,538,000 after buying an additional 221 shares in the last quarter. Braun Bostich & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in TJX Companies in the fourth quarter valued at about $203,000. Perigon Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in TJX Companies by 20.1% in the fourth quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 15,406 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock valued at $1,445,000 after buying an additional 2,576 shares in the last quarter. New World Advisors LLC boosted its stake in TJX Companies by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. New World Advisors LLC now owns 2,775,260 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock valued at $260,347,000 after buying an additional 129,020 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lawson Kroeker Investment Management Inc. NE boosted its stake in TJX Companies by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Lawson Kroeker Investment Management Inc. NE now owns 31,503 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock valued at $2,955,000 after buying an additional 747 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.09% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on TJX. UBS Group raised their price objective on TJX Companies from $95.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on TJX Companies from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and set a $105.00 price target on shares of TJX Companies in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic cut TJX Companies from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $100.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Monday, February 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, TJX Companies has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $102.19.

TJX Companies Trading Down 1.5 %

TJX traded down $1.44 during trading on Friday, hitting $94.42. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,903,139 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,063,878. The TJX Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $75.65 and a twelve month high of $102.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $98.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $93.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $106.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.83, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.86.

TJX Companies (NYSE:TJX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The apparel and home fashions retailer reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.10. TJX Companies had a return on equity of 64.18% and a net margin of 8.25%. The firm had revenue of $16.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.20 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.89 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that The TJX Companies, Inc. will post 4.07 EPS for the current year.

TJX Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be paid a $0.375 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 15th. This is a positive change from TJX Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.59%. TJX Companies's payout ratio is 34.46%.

TJX Companies declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 28th that allows the company to repurchase $2.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the apparel and home fashions retailer to buy up to 2.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at TJX Companies

In other news, EVP Louise Greenlees sold 2,694 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.83, for a total transaction of $266,248.02. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 50,273 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,968,480.59. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Louise Greenlees sold 2,694 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.83, for a total transaction of $266,248.02. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 50,273 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,968,480.59. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Ernie Herrman sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.98, for a total value of $1,979,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 515,801 shares of the company's stock, valued at $51,053,982.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

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.