Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA Cuts Stake in The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX)

Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA lowered its stake in shares of The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX - Free Report) by 2.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,461,092 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock after selling 70,731 shares during the period. TJX Companies accounts for about 2.3% of Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA's investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA owned about 0.22% of TJX Companies worth $231,539,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Strategic Blueprint LLC raised its position in shares of TJX Companies by 9.9% during the 1st quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC now owns 8,718 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock valued at $884,000 after buying an additional 787 shares in the last quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC grew its holdings in TJX Companies by 3.5% during the 1st quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC now owns 429,280 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock valued at $43,538,000 after purchasing an additional 14,533 shares during the last quarter. Sutton Place Investors LLC bought a new position in TJX Companies during the 1st quarter valued at about $1,827,000. Sapient Capital LLC raised its position in TJX Companies by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. Sapient Capital LLC now owns 125,964 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock worth $12,775,000 after purchasing an additional 2,975 shares during the period. Finally, Confluence Wealth Services Inc. lifted its stake in TJX Companies by 2.8% in the first quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. now owns 6,512 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock worth $660,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.09% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on TJX. The Goldman Sachs Group raised TJX Companies from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the company from $100.00 to $110.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $105.00 target price on shares of TJX Companies in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. UBS Group raised shares of TJX Companies from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $104.00 to $132.00 in a research note on Thursday. Redburn Atlantic cut shares of TJX Companies from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $100.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of TJX Companies from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $104.29.

TJX Companies Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of TJX stock traded up $1.09 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $94.91. 6,307,190 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,073,258. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 0.64. The stock's fifty day moving average is $97.03 and its two-hundred day moving average is $94.02. The TJX Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $75.65 and a 52-week high of $102.84. The stock has a market cap of $107.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.87.

TJX Companies (NYSE:TJX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The apparel and home fashions retailer reported $1.22 earnings per share 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.20 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.89 EPS. TJX Companies's revenue for the quarter was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that The TJX Companies, Inc. will post 4.07 EPS for the current year.

TJX Companies announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 28th that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the apparel and home fashions retailer to reacquire up to 2.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

TJX Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.375 per share. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.58%. This is an increase from TJX Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 15th. TJX Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.46%.

TJX Companies Company 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.

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