Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. Has $7.83 Million Position in The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX)

Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. grew its position in shares of The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX) by 13.6% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 83,454 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,988 shares during the period. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc.’s holdings in TJX Companies were worth $7,829,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in TJX. Anchor Investment Management LLC bought a new position in TJX Companies in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in TJX Companies in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in TJX Companies by 76.0% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 389 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 168 shares during the period. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. bought a new position in shares of TJX Companies during the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, Gradient Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of TJX Companies by 86.7% during the fourth quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 478 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares during the period. 91.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

TJX has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded TJX Companies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $100.00 to $110.00 in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Redburn Atlantic cut TJX Companies from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $100.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Monday, February 5th. UBS Group raised their price objective on TJX Companies from $95.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on TJX Companies from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 target price on shares of TJX Companies in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, TJX Companies has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $102.65.

TJX Companies Stock Performance

NYSE:TJX traded down $0.63 on Tuesday, reaching $94.24. 1,531,084 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,010,050. The firm has a market cap of $106.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 0.64. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $97.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $93.98. The TJX Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $75.65 and a 52 week high of $102.84.

TJX Companies (NYSE:TJX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 28th. The apparel and home fashions retailer reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.20 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.89 EPS. TJX Companies’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that The TJX Companies, Inc. will post 4.07 earnings per share for the current year.

TJX Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be given a $0.375 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 15th. This is a boost from TJX Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.59%. TJX Companies’s payout ratio is 34.46%.

TJX Companies declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, February 28th that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the apparel and home fashions retailer to purchase up to 2.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at TJX Companies

In other TJX Companies news, 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 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Ernie Herrman sold 20,000 shares of TJX Companies 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 515,801 shares in the company, valued at approximately $51,053,982.98. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Louise Greenlees sold 2,694 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was 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 owns 50,273 shares in the company, valued at $4,968,480.59. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.