Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. Buys New Stake in The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX)

Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. purchased a new position in The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 2,619 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $312,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of TJX Companies by 1.0% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 47,556,435 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock worth $5,589,783,000 after buying an additional 469,287 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in TJX Companies by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 23,857,584 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock worth $2,795,121,000 after acquiring an additional 363,707 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in shares of TJX Companies by 33.4% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 12,241,176 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock worth $1,347,934,000 after acquiring an additional 3,063,318 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in shares of TJX Companies by 7.5% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 9,182,564 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock valued at $1,079,319,000 after acquiring an additional 643,833 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings 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 valued at $837,951,000 after purchasing an additional 657,529 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.09% of the company’s stock.

TJX Companies Trading Up 0.4 %

TJX stock opened at $121.89 on Friday. The TJX Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $92.35 and a 12 month high of $128.00. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $122.56 and its 200 day moving average is $117.46. The company has a market capitalization of $137.03 billion, a PE ratio of 28.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.19 and a quick ratio of 0.50.

TJX Companies (NYSE:TJX) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 20th. The apparel and home fashions retailer reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.05. TJX Companies had a net margin of 8.63% and a return on equity of 61.82%. The business had revenue of $14.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.95 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.03 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that The TJX Companies, Inc. will post 4.18 EPS for the current year.

TJX Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 13th will be given a dividend of $0.375 per share. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 13th. TJX Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.29%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on TJX shares. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $134.00 price target on shares of TJX Companies in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of TJX Companies from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on TJX Companies from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on TJX Companies from $130.00 to $131.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their target price on TJX Companies from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, TJX Companies has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $131.33.

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.