The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX) Shares Sold by Ruggaard & Associates LLC

Ruggaard & Associates LLC reduced its position in The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX) by 41.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,062 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock after selling 1,450 shares during the period. Ruggaard & Associates LLC’s holdings in TJX Companies were worth $249,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in TJX Companies by 0.6% in 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 purchasing an additional 578,948 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of TJX Companies by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 24,322,579 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock worth $2,930,965,000 after buying an additional 464,995 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in TJX Companies in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,670,565,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in TJX Companies by 9.9% during 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 buying an additional 657,529 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in TJX Companies by 13.3% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 7,031,237 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock worth $850,428,000 after buying an additional 827,103 shares during the last quarter. 91.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

TJX Companies Price Performance

NYSE TJX opened at $121.92 on Friday. The TJX Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $92.35 and a 12 month high of $128.33. 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 company’s 50 day simple moving average is $121.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $120.38. 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 quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The apparel and home fashions retailer reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.16 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $16.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.24 billion. TJX Companies had a return on equity of 61.82% and a net margin of 8.63%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that The TJX Companies, Inc. will post 4.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

TJX Companies Increases Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at TJX Companies

In related news, Director Alan M. Bennett sold 8,000 shares of TJX Companies stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.53, for a total value of $988,240.00. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Ernie Herrman sold 23,428 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were 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. This represents a 4.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented 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. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of TJX Companies from $136.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $145.00 target price on shares of TJX Companies in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on TJX Companies from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on TJX Companies from $148.00 to $151.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $135.76.

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.