Morgan Stanley Has Lowered Expectations for TJX Companies (NYSE:TJX) Stock Price

TJX Companies (NYSE:TJX - Get Free Report) had its target price cut by equities researchers at Morgan Stanley from $136.00 to $133.00 in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an "overweight" rating on the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock. Morgan Stanley's price objective indicates a potential upside of 3.78% from the company's previous close.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $145.00 price target on shares of TJX Companies in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of TJX Companies from $138.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. StockNews.com cut shares of TJX Companies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group increased their price target on TJX Companies from $148.00 to $151.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Citigroup raised TJX Companies from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $128.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $136.94.

TJX Companies Stock Performance

TJX Companies stock traded up $0.07 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $128.16. 4,131,085 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,342,396. TJX Companies has a fifty-two week low of $97.53 and a fifty-two week high of $131.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $143.17 billion, a PE ratio of 30.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.94. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $123.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $122.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a current ratio of 1.19.

TJX Companies (NYSE:TJX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The apparel and home fashions retailer reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.16 by $0.07. TJX Companies had a net margin of 8.63% and a return on equity of 61.82%. The business had revenue of $16.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.24 billion. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that TJX Companies will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at TJX Companies

In other news, Director Alan M. Bennett sold 8,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.53, for a total transaction of $988,240.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Ernie Herrman sold 23,428 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 484,189 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $59,569,772.67. The trade was 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.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On TJX Companies

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in TJX. Congress Asset Management Co. raised its stake in shares of 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 worth $148,456,000 after buying an additional 13,036 shares during the last quarter. Atlas Legacy Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of TJX Companies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $433,000. Fiduciary Trust Co lifted its stake in TJX Companies by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Fiduciary Trust Co now owns 2,891,186 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock valued at $349,284,000 after buying an additional 144,113 shares in the last quarter. BLB&B Advisors LLC grew its holdings in TJX Companies by 2.8% during the 4th 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. Finally, Ethic Inc. raised its holdings in shares of TJX Companies by 21.1% in the fourth quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 167,169 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock worth $20,196,000 after acquiring an additional 29,158 shares during the last quarter. 91.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.