Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd. Decreases Holdings in The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX)

Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd. trimmed its holdings in The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX) by 3.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 14,860 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock after selling 520 shares during the period. Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in TJX Companies were worth $1,795,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in TJX. Congress Asset Management Co. boosted its position in TJX Companies by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 1,228,840 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock valued at $148,456,000 after buying an additional 13,036 shares during the period. Atlas Legacy Advisors LLC bought a new position in TJX Companies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $433,000. BLB&B Advisors LLC increased its stake in TJX Companies by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. BLB&B Advisors LLC now owns 81,079 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock worth $9,795,000 after purchasing an additional 2,201 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in TJX Companies by 12.1% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 34,186 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock valued at $4,130,000 after purchasing an additional 3,691 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boyd Watterson Asset Management LLC OH purchased a new stake in shares of TJX Companies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $604,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.09% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at TJX Companies

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

TJX Companies Stock Up 1.5 %

TJX stock opened at $125.80 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.19 and a quick ratio of 0.50. The TJX Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $93.39 and a 1-year high of $131.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $140.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.86. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $121.83 and a 200-day moving average price of $121.18.

TJX Companies (NYSE:TJX) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The apparel and home fashions retailer reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.16 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $16.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.24 billion. TJX Companies had a net margin of 8.63% and a return on equity of 61.82%. Equities analysts forecast that The TJX Companies, Inc. will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

TJX Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.425 per share. This represents a $1.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.35%. This is a boost from TJX Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. TJX Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.91%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on TJX. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $145.00 target price on shares of TJX Companies in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Citigroup raised shares of TJX Companies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $128.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on TJX Companies from $133.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. StockNews.com raised TJX Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of TJX Companies from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, TJX Companies currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $135.76.

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.