Pioneer Trust Bank N A OR Grows Holdings in The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX)

Pioneer Trust Bank N A OR grew its stake in The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX) by 5.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 65,553 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,655 shares during the period. TJX Companies comprises 1.8% of Pioneer Trust Bank N A OR’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. Pioneer Trust Bank N A OR’s holdings in TJX Companies were worth $6,150,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of TJX Companies by 7.0% in the third quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 7,016 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock valued at $624,000 after purchasing an additional 456 shares in the last quarter. NBT Bank N A NY grew its holdings in TJX Companies by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. NBT Bank N A NY now owns 69,575 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock worth $6,184,000 after acquiring an additional 2,036 shares in the last quarter. Advisor Partners II LLC grew its holdings in TJX Companies by 15.1% during the 3rd quarter. Advisor Partners II LLC now owns 69,682 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock worth $6,193,000 after acquiring an additional 9,141 shares in the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its holdings in TJX Companies by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 59,096 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock worth $5,252,000 after acquiring an additional 1,623 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Catalyst Financial Partners LLC grew its holdings in TJX Companies by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 4,911 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock worth $436,000 after acquiring an additional 259 shares in the last quarter. 91.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

TJX Companies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:TJX traded up $0.41 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $98.91. 5,336,646 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,083,868. The TJX Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $75.65 and a 52 week high of $102.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 1.21. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $96.86 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $94.23. The company has a market cap of $112.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.87.

TJX Companies (NYSE:TJX) last posted 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 company had revenue of $16.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that The TJX Companies, Inc. will post 4.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

TJX Companies declared that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, February 28th that allows the company to repurchase $2.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the apparel and home fashions retailer to purchase up to 2.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

TJX Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be issued a $0.375 dividend. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.52%. This is a boost from TJX Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 15th. TJX Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.46%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group upgraded shares of TJX Companies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $104.00 to $132.00 in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $105.00 price target on shares of TJX Companies in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Redburn Atlantic downgraded shares of TJX Companies from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $100.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Monday, February 5th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of TJX Companies from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of TJX Companies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $100.00 to $110.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $104.29.

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.