Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Sells 205,006 Shares of The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lowered its holdings in The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX) by 50.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 204,495 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock after selling 205,006 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in TJX Companies were worth $19,184,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in TJX. Fairfield Bush & CO. bought a new stake in TJX Companies during the first quarter worth about $68,000. United Bank grew its stake in TJX Companies by 9.2% during the first quarter. United Bank now owns 15,197 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock worth $921,000 after buying an additional 1,284 shares during the last quarter. AMI Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in TJX Companies during the first quarter worth about $2,780,000. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its stake in TJX Companies by 69.0% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 38,304 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock worth $2,320,000 after buying an additional 15,644 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in TJX Companies by 10.0% during the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 4,396 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock worth $266,000 after buying an additional 398 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.09% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on TJX shares. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 price objective on shares of TJX Companies in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of TJX Companies from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. 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 research report on Monday, February 5th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on shares of TJX Companies from $95.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, TJX Companies currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $102.19.

Insider Activity at TJX Companies

In related news, CEO Ernie Herrman sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at $51,053,982.98. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, EVP Louise Greenlees sold 2,694 shares of TJX Companies 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 $4,968,480.59. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Ernie Herrman sold 20,000 shares of TJX Companies 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. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

TJX Companies Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE TJX opened at $92.66 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $97.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $93.59. The TJX Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $75.65 and a fifty-two week high of $102.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $104.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.01, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 0.64.

TJX Companies (NYSE:TJX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 28th. The apparel and home fashions retailer reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.10. TJX Companies had a net margin of 8.25% and a return on equity of 64.18%. The business had revenue of $16.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.20 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.89 earnings per share. TJX Companies’s revenue was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that The TJX Companies, Inc. will post 4.07 EPS for the current year.

TJX Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 16th will be issued a $0.375 dividend. This is a positive change from TJX Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.62%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 15th. TJX Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.46%.

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

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.