Franklin Resources Inc. Sells 501,469 Shares of The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX)

Franklin Resources Inc. lessened its stake in The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX) by 6.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,257,835 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock after selling 501,469 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in TJX Companies were worth $568,724,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. FMR LLC raised its position in TJX Companies by 11.0% in the 1st quarter. FMR LLC now owns 48,901,281 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock worth $3,831,904,000 after purchasing an additional 4,862,540 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its position in shares of TJX Companies by 88.1% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 26,619,778 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock valued at $2,118,935,000 after acquiring an additional 12,468,119 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of TJX Companies by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 20,682,355 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock valued at $1,643,008,000 after buying an additional 411,508 shares in the last quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of TJX Companies by 90,089.8% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 19,788,543 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock valued at $1,575,168,000 after buying an additional 19,766,602 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of TJX Companies in the 4th quarter valued at $891,631,000. Institutional investors own 89.28% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at TJX Companies

In other news, Chairman Carol Meyrowitz sold 64,817 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.13, for a total transaction of $5,906,773.21. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 135,050 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,307,106.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Chairman Carol Meyrowitz sold 64,817 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.13, for a total transaction of $5,906,773.21. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 135,050 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,307,106.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Ernie Herrman sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.04, for a total transaction of $4,006,800.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 642,098 shares in the company, valued at approximately $57,172,405.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 114,014 shares of company stock valued at $10,291,303 in the last three months. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

TJX Companies Stock Performance

TJX Companies stock traded up $0.16 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $92.64. The company had a trading volume of 4,450,876 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,979,649. The firm has a market cap of $105.99 billion, a PE ratio of 27.17, a PEG ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 1.20 and a quick ratio of 0.56. The TJX Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $59.78 and a one year high of $92.87. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $86.49 and a 200 day moving average of $80.87.

TJX Companies (NYSE:TJX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 16th. The apparel and home fashions retailer reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $12.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.45 billion. TJX Companies had a net margin of 7.77% and a return on equity of 62.61%. The business’s revenue was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.69 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that The TJX Companies, Inc. will post 3.72 earnings per share for the current year.

TJX Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 10th were issued a $0.3325 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 9th. This represents a $1.33 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.44%. TJX Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on TJX shares. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of TJX Companies from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 17th. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of TJX Companies in a research report on Thursday, August 17th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of TJX Companies from $80.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 17th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of TJX Companies from $95.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 15th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of TJX Companies from $90.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 17th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $94.95.

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, kids, and gourmet food departments; jewelry and accessories; and other merchandise.