Cambridge Financial Group Inc. Sells 8,605 Shares of The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX)

Cambridge Financial Group Inc. reduced its position in The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX - Free Report) by 10.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 75,976 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock after selling 8,605 shares during the quarter. TJX Companies makes up about 3.6% of Cambridge Financial Group Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. Cambridge Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in TJX Companies were worth $7,127,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. lifted its position in shares of TJX Companies by 35.5% in the 3rd quarter. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. now owns 73,466 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock worth $6,530,000 after buying an additional 19,236 shares during the last quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in TJX Companies by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. now owns 603,482 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock worth $56,613,000 after acquiring an additional 21,767 shares during the last quarter. Savoir Faire Capital Management L.P. acquired a new position in TJX Companies in the third quarter valued at approximately $3,197,000. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC grew its holdings in shares of TJX Companies by 42.9% during the fourth quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 19,108 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock valued at $1,793,000 after purchasing an additional 5,737 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cape Cod Five Cents Savings Bank raised its position in shares of TJX Companies by 109.1% during the 3rd quarter. Cape Cod Five Cents Savings Bank now owns 148,954 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock worth $13,239,000 after purchasing an additional 77,711 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.09% of the company's stock.

TJX Companies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE TJX traded up $0.20 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $95.11. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,894,076 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,182,456. The company has a market cap of $107.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.87. The TJX Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $75.65 and a one year high of $102.84. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $96.94 and a 200 day moving average price of $94.06.

TJX Companies (NYSE:TJX - Get Free Report) last posted 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. The company had revenue of $16.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.20 billion. TJX Companies had a return on equity of 64.18% and a net margin of 8.25%. The firm's revenue was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.89 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that The TJX Companies, Inc. will post 4.07 EPS for the current year.

TJX Companies declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, February 28th that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the apparel and home fashions retailer to purchase up to 2.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

TJX Companies Increases Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.