The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX) Shares Bought by Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX - Free Report) by 12.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,300,919 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 1,403,561 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada owned approximately 1.09% of TJX Companies worth $1,486,074,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of TJX Companies by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 99,314,635 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock worth $11,998,201,000 after buying an additional 578,948 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of TJX Companies by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 24,322,579 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock worth $2,930,965,000 after buying an additional 464,995 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in shares of TJX Companies by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 14,647,792 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock worth $1,769,600,000 after buying an additional 626,739 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of TJX Companies by 15.2% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 13,985,826 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock worth $1,689,628,000 after buying an additional 1,845,225 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of TJX Companies during the fourth quarter worth about $1,670,565,000. 91.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

TJX Companies Price Performance

TJX Companies stock traded up $1.71 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $135.05. The stock had a trading volume of 5,102,110 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,347,920. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.19 and a quick ratio of 0.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $150.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.78, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.94. The TJX Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $97.53 and a 1-year high of $135.82. The stock's fifty day moving average is $124.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $123.03.

TJX Companies (NYSE:TJX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The apparel and home fashions retailer reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.16 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $16.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.24 billion. TJX Companies had a return on equity of 61.82% and a net margin of 8.63%. As a group, analysts predict 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. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.425 per share. This is an increase from TJX Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. This represents a $1.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.26%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. TJX Companies's payout ratio is currently 39.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Ernie Herrman sold 23,428 shares of TJX Companies 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 484,189 shares in the company, valued at $59,569,772.67. The trade was a 4.62% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Alan M. Bennett sold 8,000 shares of TJX Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.53, for a total value of $988,240.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on TJX shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on TJX Companies from $127.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday. Barclays lifted their price objective on TJX Companies from $136.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on TJX Companies from $138.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on TJX Companies from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on TJX Companies from $133.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, TJX Companies presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $136.82.

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.