Fulton Breakefield Broenniman LLC Increases Stock Holdings in The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX)

Fulton Breakefield Broenniman LLC lifted its position in The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX) by 0.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 147,801 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock after buying an additional 410 shares during the quarter. Fulton Breakefield Broenniman LLC’s holdings in TJX Companies were worth $13,865,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. FMR LLC raised its stake in TJX Companies by 13.1% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 52,008,484 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock valued at $4,622,514,000 after purchasing an additional 6,036,764 shares in the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group raised its stake in TJX Companies by 350.9% in the third quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 2,078,244 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock valued at $184,714,000 after purchasing an additional 1,617,367 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in TJX Companies by 225.6% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,137,256 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock valued at $189,959,000 after purchasing an additional 1,480,837 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc raised its stake in TJX Companies by 93.2% in the third quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 2,949,415 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock valued at $262,144,000 after purchasing an additional 1,423,004 shares in the last quarter. Finally, J.P. Morgan Private Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in TJX Companies in the third quarter valued at approximately $115,982,000. 91.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

TJX Companies Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of TJX Companies stock opened at $96.36 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 1.21. The TJX Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $75.65 and a 52-week high of $102.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $109.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.86. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $97.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $93.90.

TJX Companies (NYSE:TJX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The apparel and home fashions retailer reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $16.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.20 billion. TJX Companies had a net margin of 8.25% and a return on equity of 64.18%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.89 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that The TJX Companies, Inc. will post 4.07 EPS for the current year.

TJX Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 16th will be issued a $0.375 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.56%. This is a boost from TJX Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. TJX Companies’s payout ratio is 34.46%.

TJX Companies declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 28th that permits the company to buyback $2.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the apparel and home fashions retailer to reacquire up to 2.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on TJX shares. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $105.00 target price on shares of TJX Companies in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Redburn Atlantic downgraded shares of TJX Companies from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $100.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Monday, February 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of TJX Companies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $100.00 to $110.00 in a research note on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets lifted 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. Finally, UBS Group lifted 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. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $102.65.

Insider Activity at TJX Companies

In related news, EVP Louise Greenlees sold 2,694 shares of TJX Companies stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.83, for a total value of $266,248.02. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 50,273 shares in the company, valued at $4,968,480.59. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Louise Greenlees sold 2,694 shares of TJX Companies stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.83, for a total value of $266,248.02. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 50,273 shares in the company, valued at $4,968,480.59. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Ernie Herrman sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 515,801 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $51,053,982.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.