World Investment Advisors Acquires 16,113 Shares of The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX)

World Investment Advisors raised its holdings in shares of The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX) by 22.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 87,950 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 16,113 shares during the quarter. World Investment Advisors’ holdings in TJX Companies were worth $10,625,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in TJX. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in TJX Companies by 0.6% in the 4th 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 buying an additional 578,948 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of TJX Companies by 1.0% during 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 acquiring an additional 469,287 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake 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 valued at $2,930,965,000 after acquiring an additional 464,995 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in TJX Companies in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,670,565,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in 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 worth $837,951,000 after purchasing an additional 657,529 shares in the last quarter. 91.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Ernie Herrman sold 23,428 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 484,189 shares in the company, valued at $59,569,772.67. The trade was a 4.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Alan M. Bennett sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.53, for a total value of $988,240.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on TJX shares. StockNews.com raised TJX Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on TJX Companies from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Guggenheim increased their target price on shares of TJX Companies from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of TJX Companies from $138.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of TJX Companies from $133.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $135.06.

TJX Companies Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of TJX Companies stock opened at $124.99 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $121.65 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $120.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $140.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.41, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.96. The TJX Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $92.35 and a 12-month high of $128.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

TJX Companies (NYSE:TJX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The apparel and home fashions retailer reported $1.23 earnings per share 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.24 billion. Analysts predict that The TJX Companies, Inc. will post 4.18 EPS for the current year.

TJX Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.425 per share. This represents a $1.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.36%. This is a boost from TJX Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. TJX Companies’s payout ratio is presently 35.21%.

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.