Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board Buys 2,169 Shares of The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX)

Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board boosted its position in shares of The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX - Free Report) by 45.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,900 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 2,169 shares during the period. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board's holdings in TJX Companies were worth $834,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of TJX. Rossby Financial LCC acquired a new stake in TJX Companies in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $765,000. Chiron Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in TJX Companies during the fourth quarter worth $2,974,000. Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super bought a new position in TJX Companies in the fourth quarter valued at $4,674,000. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan bought a new position in TJX Companies in the fourth quarter valued at $12,047,000. Finally, Defined Financial Planning LLC bought a new stake in TJX Companies during the 4th quarter worth about $204,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.09% of the company's stock.

TJX Companies Stock Performance

Shares of TJX stock traded down $2.58 on Monday, hitting $125.04. The company's stock had a trading volume of 531,876 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,414,137. The TJX Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $93.32 and a fifty-two week high of $131.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a current ratio of 1.19. The stock's 50 day moving average is $121.84 and its 200-day moving average is $121.08. The company has a market capitalization of $139.68 billion, a PE ratio of 29.42, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.86.

TJX Companies (NYSE:TJX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The apparel and home fashions retailer reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.16 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $16.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.24 billion. TJX Companies had a net margin of 8.63% and a return on equity of 61.82%. Equities research analysts expect that The TJX Companies, Inc. will post 4.18 earnings per share 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. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.425 per share. This is a positive change from TJX Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. This represents a $1.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.36%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. TJX Companies's dividend payout ratio is 39.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Alan M. Bennett sold 8,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.53, for a total value of $988,240.00. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Ernie Herrman sold 23,428 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.03, for a total transaction of $2,882,346.84. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 484,189 shares in the company, valued at $59,569,772.67. This represents a 4.62 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $145.00 target price on shares of TJX Companies in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Barclays upped their price objective on TJX Companies from $136.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of TJX Companies from $138.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of TJX Companies from $148.00 to $151.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of TJX Companies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, TJX Companies currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $135.76.

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.