Bristol John W & Co. Inc. NY Sells 332,026 Shares of The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX)

Bristol John W & Co. Inc. NY cut its holdings in The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX - Free Report) by 28.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 832,465 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock after selling 332,026 shares during the quarter. Bristol John W & Co. Inc. NY owned about 0.07% of TJX Companies worth $78,094,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of TJX Companies in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of TJX Companies in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC purchased a new stake in shares of TJX Companies in the third quarter valued at about $29,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of TJX Companies in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Cornerstone Planning Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of TJX Companies in the second quarter valued at about $33,000. 91.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

TJX Companies Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE:TJX traded down $1.44 during trading on Friday, reaching $94.42. The stock had a trading volume of 3,951,575 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,154,296. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $98.04 and a 200-day moving average price of $93.54. 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 has a market cap of $106.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.46, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.86. The TJX Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $75.65 and a fifty-two week high of $102.84.

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

TJX Companies declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, February 28th that allows the company to repurchase $2.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the apparel and home fashions retailer to reacquire up to 2.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

TJX Companies Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.