Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. Acquires 116,200 Shares of The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX)

Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. boosted its holdings in The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX) by 12.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,064,048 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 116,200 shares during the quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C.’s holdings in TJX Companies were worth $128,548,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in TJX. Norges Bank bought a new stake in TJX Companies during the fourth quarter worth about $1,670,565,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of TJX Companies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $570,342,000. Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in shares of TJX Companies by 689.6% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,595,085 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock worth $313,512,000 after purchasing an additional 2,266,415 shares in the last quarter. DJE Kapital AG acquired a new stake in shares of TJX Companies in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $140,068,000. Finally, Provident Trust Co. grew its stake in shares of TJX Companies by 71.3% in the fourth quarter. Provident Trust Co. now owns 2,723,149 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock valued at $328,984,000 after buying an additional 1,133,486 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.09% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at TJX Companies

In related news, Director Alan M. Bennett sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.53, for a total transaction of $988,240.00. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Ernie Herrman sold 23,428 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.03, for a total transaction of $2,882,346.84. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now 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. 0.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

TJX Companies Stock Performance

NYSE TJX opened at $125.80 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $121.83 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $121.18. The TJX Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $93.39 and a 12-month high of $131.30. The company has a market capitalization of $140.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a quick ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

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. TJX Companies had a return on equity of 61.82% and a net margin of 8.63%. The business had revenue of $16.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.24 billion. Analysts anticipate that The TJX Companies, Inc. will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current year.

TJX Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a $0.425 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.35%. This is a boost from TJX Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. TJX Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.91%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on TJX shares. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of TJX Companies from $148.00 to $151.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on TJX Companies from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $145.00 price objective on shares of TJX Companies in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. StockNews.com upgraded TJX Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on TJX Companies from $136.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.