Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. Buys 28,271 Shares of The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX) by 1.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,831,733 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock after buying an additional 28,271 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. owned approximately 0.25% of TJX Companies worth $265,645,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of TJX. Alhambra Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of TJX Companies by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Alhambra Investment Management LLC now owns 5,433 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock worth $510,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the period. BSW Wealth Partners boosted its position in shares of TJX Companies by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. BSW Wealth Partners now owns 5,623 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock worth $528,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the period. Insight Advisors LLC PA lifted its holdings in TJX Companies by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Insight Advisors LLC PA now owns 3,757 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock worth $352,000 after buying an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. First Business Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in TJX Companies by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. First Business Financial Services Inc. now owns 18,177 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock worth $1,616,000 after buying an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. Finally, WNY Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in TJX Companies by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. WNY Asset Management LLC now owns 2,511 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock worth $223,000 after buying an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. 91.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at TJX Companies

In related news, CEO Ernie Herrman sold 20,000 shares of the 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other TJX Companies news, EVP Louise Greenlees sold 2,694 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 50,273 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,968,480.59. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Ernie Herrman sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 515,801 shares in the company, valued at $51,053,982.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

TJX Companies Price Performance

Shares of TJX opened at $94.42 on Monday. The TJX Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $75.65 and a twelve month high of $102.84. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $98.04 and its 200-day simple moving average is $93.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $106.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.46, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

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

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

TJX Companies Increases Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of TJX Companies from $95.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 target price on shares of TJX Companies in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Redburn Atlantic lowered shares of TJX Companies from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $100.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Monday, February 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of TJX Companies from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $102.19.

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.