Fmr LLC Trims Stock Holdings in The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX)

Fmr LLC cut its stake in shares of The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX) by 11.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 35,756,225 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock after selling 4,582,779 shares during the period. Fmr LLC owned 3.18% of TJX Companies worth $4,319,710,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in TJX Companies by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 99,314,635 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock valued at $11,998,201,000 after buying an additional 578,948 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of TJX Companies by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 24,322,579 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock valued at $2,930,965,000 after acquiring an additional 464,995 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of TJX Companies during the fourth quarter worth about $1,670,565,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of TJX Companies by 9.9% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,271,499 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock worth $837,951,000 after purchasing an additional 657,529 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in TJX Companies by 13.3% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 7,031,237 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock valued at $850,428,000 after purchasing an additional 827,103 shares in the last quarter. 91.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Ernie Herrman sold 23,428 shares of TJX Companies stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.03, for a total value of $2,882,346.84. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, 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 value of $988,240.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

TJX Companies Trading Down 2.8 %

NYSE TJX opened at $121.92 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $121.69 and its 200 day moving average is $120.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $136.20 billion, a PE ratio of 28.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.86. The TJX Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $92.35 and a twelve month high of $128.33.

TJX Companies (NYSE:TJX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The apparel and home fashions retailer reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $16.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.24 billion. Research analysts forecast that The TJX Companies, Inc. will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

TJX Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.425 per share. This represents a $1.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This is a boost from TJX Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. TJX Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.91%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on TJX. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of TJX Companies from $133.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $145.00 price objective on shares of TJX Companies in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. StockNews.com cut TJX Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of TJX Companies from $136.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of TJX Companies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $128.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Thursday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, TJX Companies currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $135.76.

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.