Pennington Partners & CO. LLC Invests $257,000 in The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX)

Pennington Partners & CO. LLC bought a new position in shares of The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 2,124 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock, valued at approximately $257,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in TJX. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of TJX Companies in the 4th quarter valued at $1,670,565,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of TJX Companies in the 4th quarter worth about $570,342,000. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in shares of TJX Companies by 689.6% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,595,085 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock valued at $313,512,000 after purchasing an additional 2,266,415 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of TJX Companies by 15.2% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 13,985,826 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock valued at $1,689,628,000 after purchasing an additional 1,845,225 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DJE Kapital AG acquired a new stake in TJX Companies during the fourth quarter worth approximately $140,068,000. 91.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

TJX Companies Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of TJX stock traded down $0.27 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $128.95. The stock had a trading volume of 4,869,492 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,351,738. The firm has a market capitalization of $144.04 billion, a PE ratio of 30.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.86. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $122.53 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $121.93. The company has a current ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The TJX Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $95.38 and a 52-week high of $131.30.

TJX Companies (NYSE:TJX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The apparel and home fashions retailer reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.16 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $16.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.24 billion. TJX Companies had a return on equity of 61.82% and a net margin of 8.63%. Equities 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a $0.425 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This is a positive change from TJX Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. This represents a $1.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.32%. TJX Companies's dividend payout ratio is 39.91%.

Insider Activity

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on TJX. Barclays increased their price target on TJX Companies from $136.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of TJX Companies from $133.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $145.00 price target on shares of TJX Companies in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Citigroup raised shares of TJX Companies from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $128.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on TJX Companies from $138.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, TJX Companies has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $137.06.

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.