Pittenger & Anderson Inc. Raises Stock Position in The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX)

Pittenger & Anderson Inc. raised its stake in The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX) by 2.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 179,146 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock after buying an additional 5,094 shares during the quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc.’s holdings in TJX Companies were worth $16,806,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. increased its holdings in TJX Companies by 35.5% in the third quarter. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. now owns 73,466 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock valued at $6,530,000 after buying an additional 19,236 shares in the last quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in TJX Companies by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. now owns 603,482 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock valued at $56,613,000 after buying an additional 21,767 shares in the last quarter. Savoir Faire Capital Management L.P. purchased a new position in TJX Companies in the third quarter valued at about $3,197,000. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC increased its stake in shares of TJX Companies by 42.9% during the 4th quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 19,108 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock worth $1,793,000 after purchasing an additional 5,737 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cape Cod Five Cents Savings Bank increased its stake in shares of TJX Companies by 109.1% during the 3rd quarter. Cape Cod Five Cents Savings Bank now owns 148,954 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock worth $13,239,000 after purchasing an additional 77,711 shares in the last quarter. 91.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of TJX Companies from $95.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 target price on shares of TJX Companies in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of TJX Companies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $100.00 to $110.00 in a research report on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets raised 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. Finally, 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. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $102.65.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Louise Greenlees sold 2,694 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.83, for a total value of $266,248.02. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 50,273 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,968,480.59. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 50,273 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,968,480.59. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 515,801 shares in the company, valued at approximately $51,053,982.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

TJX Companies Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of TJX stock traded up $0.20 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $96.62. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,921,844 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,035,215. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $97.36 and its 200-day simple moving average is $93.82. The TJX Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $75.65 and a 12-month high of $102.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $109.47 billion, a PE ratio of 24.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.86.

TJX Companies (NYSE:TJX) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The apparel and home fashions retailer reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $16.20 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.89 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that The TJX Companies, Inc. will post 4.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

TJX Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be paid a $0.375 dividend. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 15th. This is an increase from TJX Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. TJX Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.46%.

TJX Companies announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, February 28th that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the apparel and home fashions retailer to reacquire up to 2.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.