Lincoln National Corp Acquires 217 Shares of The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX)

Lincoln National Corp raised its stake in shares of The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX) by 1.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 12,374 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 217 shares during the period. Lincoln National Corp’s holdings in TJX Companies were worth $1,161,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. raised its stake in TJX Companies by 35.5% during the 3rd quarter. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. now owns 73,466 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock valued at $6,530,000 after purchasing an additional 19,236 shares during the period. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of TJX Companies by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. now owns 603,482 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock worth $56,613,000 after acquiring an additional 21,767 shares during the last quarter. Savoir Faire Capital Management L.P. purchased a new position in TJX Companies during the third quarter valued at $3,197,000. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC increased its holdings in TJX Companies by 42.9% in the 4th quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 19,108 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock valued at $1,793,000 after acquiring an additional 5,737 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cape Cod Five Cents Savings Bank lifted its stake in TJX Companies by 109.1% in the 3rd quarter. Cape Cod Five Cents Savings Bank now owns 148,954 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock worth $13,239,000 after purchasing an additional 77,711 shares in the last quarter. 91.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

TJX Companies Stock Performance

TJX Companies stock opened at $98.50 on Thursday. The TJX Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $75.65 and a fifty-two week high of $102.84. The company has a market capitalization of $111.60 billion, a PE ratio of 25.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $96.86 and a 200-day moving average price of $94.23. 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 issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The apparel and home fashions retailer reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $16.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.20 billion. TJX Companies had a return on equity of 64.18% and a net margin of 8.25%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.89 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that The TJX Companies, Inc. will post 4.1 earnings per share for the current year.

TJX Companies announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, February 28th that permits the company to buyback $2.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the apparel and home fashions retailer to buy up to 2.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

TJX Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be issued a $0.375 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 15th. This is an increase from TJX Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.52%. TJX Companies’s payout ratio is currently 34.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling at TJX Companies

In related news, EVP Louise Greenlees sold 2,694 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 50,273 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,968,480.59. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Louise Greenlees sold 2,694 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.83, for a total value of $266,248.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 50,273 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,968,480.59. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Ernie Herrman sold 20,000 shares of TJX Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 21st. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $51,053,982.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on TJX. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on TJX Companies from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $105.00 target price on shares of TJX Companies in a report 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. UBS Group raised shares of TJX Companies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $104.00 to $132.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of TJX Companies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $100.00 to $110.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, TJX Companies has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $104.29.

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.