Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Acquires 954 Shares of The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lifted its holdings in shares of The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX) by 1.1% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 89,665 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock after buying an additional 954 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in TJX Companies were worth $8,411,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in TJX. Anchor Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in TJX Companies during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in TJX Companies during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its position in TJX Companies by 76.0% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 389 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 168 shares during the period. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new stake in TJX Companies during the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, Gradient Investments LLC boosted its position in TJX Companies by 86.7% during the 4th quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 478 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 222 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 91.09% of the company’s stock.

TJX Companies Stock Up 2.4 %

NYSE:TJX traded up $2.33 on Monday, reaching $97.44. 6,229,573 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,095,990. The company has a market capitalization of $110.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.24, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The TJX Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $75.65 and a 12 month high of $102.84. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $96.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $94.16.

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

TJX Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 15th. This is a positive change from TJX Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.54%. TJX Companies’s payout ratio is currently 34.46%.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Redburn Atlantic cut shares of TJX Companies from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $100.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $105.00 target price on shares of TJX Companies in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. 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. UBS Group raised shares of TJX Companies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $104.00 to $132.00 in a research report on Thursday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised 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, April 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $104.29.

Insider Transactions at TJX Companies

In other news, CEO Ernie Herrman sold 20,000 shares of TJX Companies 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 completion of the sale, 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 accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Louise Greenlees sold 2,694 shares of TJX Companies stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 50,273 shares in the company, valued at $4,968,480.59. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Ernie Herrman sold 20,000 shares of TJX Companies stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 515,801 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $51,053,982.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

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.