California Public Employees Retirement System Increases Stock Position in The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX)

California Public Employees Retirement System boosted its stake in The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX) by 1.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,316,676 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 35,874 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System owned about 0.20% of TJX Companies worth $217,327,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its position in TJX Companies by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 5,846 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock valued at $548,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Alhambra Investment Management LLC increased its stake in TJX Companies by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Alhambra Investment Management LLC now owns 5,433 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock valued at $510,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the period. BSW Wealth Partners increased its stake in TJX Companies by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. BSW Wealth Partners now owns 5,623 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock valued at $528,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the period. Insight Advisors LLC PA increased its stake in TJX Companies by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Insight Advisors LLC PA now owns 3,757 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock valued at $352,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the period. Finally, First Business Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in TJX Companies by 0.6% in the third quarter. First Business Financial Services Inc. now owns 18,177 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock valued at $1,616,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares during the period. 91.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Ernie Herrman sold 20,000 shares of TJX Companies stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.98, for a total value of $1,979,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 515,801 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $51,053,982.98. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other TJX Companies news, EVP Louise Greenlees sold 2,694 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.83, for a total transaction of $266,248.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 50,273 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,968,480.59. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Ernie Herrman sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.98, for a total transaction of $1,979,600.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 515,801 shares in the company, valued at $51,053,982.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on TJX. Redburn Atlantic lowered shares of TJX Companies from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $100.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 price target on shares of TJX Companies in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of TJX Companies from $95.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of TJX Companies from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $102.19.

TJX Companies Trading Down 0.4 %

NYSE TJX traded down $0.40 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $93.68. 626,489 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,967,131. The TJX Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $75.65 and a 1-year high of $102.84. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $97.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is $93.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $106.14 billion, a PE ratio of 24.37, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 1.21.

TJX Companies (NYSE:TJX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The apparel and home fashions retailer reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.10. TJX Companies had a net margin of 8.25% and a return on equity of 64.18%. The company had revenue of $16.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.20 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.89 EPS. TJX Companies’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that The TJX Companies, Inc. will post 4.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

TJX Companies announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, February 28th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the apparel and home fashions retailer to repurchase up to 2.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

TJX Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be issued a $0.375 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 15th. This is a positive change from TJX Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.60%. TJX Companies’s payout ratio is 34.46%.

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.