Pinebridge Investments L.P. Boosts Stock Position in The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX)

Pinebridge Investments L.P. boosted its stake in shares of The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX - Free Report) by 29.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 683,952 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock after buying an additional 155,646 shares during the period. TJX Companies makes up about 0.6% of Pinebridge Investments L.P.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest holding. Pinebridge Investments L.P. owned 0.06% of TJX Companies worth $82,628,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Congress Asset Management Co. increased its position in TJX Companies by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 1,228,840 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock valued at $148,456,000 after buying an additional 13,036 shares in the last quarter. Atlas Legacy Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of TJX Companies during the fourth quarter valued at $433,000. BLB&B Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of TJX Companies by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. BLB&B Advisors LLC now owns 81,079 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock valued at $9,795,000 after buying an additional 2,201 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in TJX Companies by 12.1% in the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 34,186 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock worth $4,130,000 after buying an additional 3,691 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boyd Watterson Asset Management LLC OH bought a new position in TJX Companies during the 4th quarter valued at about $604,000. Institutional investors own 91.09% of the company's stock.

TJX Companies Stock Performance

TJX Companies stock traded up $0.14 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $126.64. The stock had a trading volume of 4,205,680 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,373,432. The firm's fifty day moving average is $121.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $121.51. The company has a market capitalization of $141.47 billion, a PE ratio of 29.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.86. The TJX Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $93.39 and a 52-week high of $131.30. The company has a current ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

TJX Companies (NYSE:TJX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The apparel and home fashions retailer reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.16 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $16.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.24 billion. TJX Companies had a net margin of 8.63% and a return on equity of 61.82%. On average, research analysts forecast that The TJX Companies, Inc. will post 4.18 EPS for the current 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 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.34%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. TJX Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling at TJX Companies

In other TJX Companies news, Director Alan M. Bennett sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.53, for a total transaction of $988,240.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Ernie Herrman sold 23,428 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were 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 directly owns 484,189 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $59,569,772.67. This trade represents a 4.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of TJX Companies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird upped 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. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of TJX Companies from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of TJX Companies from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $137.38.

TJX Companies 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.