Wesleyan Assurance Society Cuts Stake in The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX)

Wesleyan Assurance Society reduced its position in The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX) by 6.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 81,268 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock after selling 5,200 shares during the quarter. Wesleyan Assurance Society’s holdings in TJX Companies were worth $9,816,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Woodline Partners LP acquired a new stake in shares of TJX Companies during the fourth quarter worth $8,183,000. Vident Advisory LLC lifted its stake in shares of TJX Companies by 157.1% during the fourth quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 266,153 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock worth $32,154,000 after buying an additional 162,613 shares during the period. Vivaldi Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of TJX Companies during the fourth quarter worth $492,000. WBI Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of TJX Companies by 74.2% during the fourth quarter. WBI Investments LLC now owns 7,855 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock worth $949,000 after buying an additional 3,345 shares during the period. Finally, Twinbeech Capital LP lifted its stake in shares of TJX Companies by 25,517.1% during the fourth quarter. Twinbeech Capital LP now owns 637,354 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock worth $76,999,000 after buying an additional 634,866 shares during the period. 91.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

TJX has been the subject of several research reports. Citigroup upgraded shares of TJX Companies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $128.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of TJX Companies from $136.00 to $133.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of TJX Companies from $127.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of TJX Companies from $133.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, TJX Companies presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $136.82.

TJX Companies Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of TJX Companies stock opened at $135.05 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $124.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $123.19. The company has a market cap of $150.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.94. The TJX Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $97.53 and a fifty-two week high of $135.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a current ratio of 1.19.

TJX Companies (NYSE:TJX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The apparel and home fashions retailer reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.16 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $16.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.24 billion. TJX Companies had a net margin of 8.63% and a return on equity of 61.82%. As a group, equities analysts predict that The TJX Companies, Inc. will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

TJX Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.425 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.26%. This is a boost from TJX Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. TJX Companies’s payout ratio is currently 39.91%.

Insider Transactions at TJX Companies

In other news, CEO Ernie Herrman sold 23,428 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 484,189 shares of the company’s stock, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Alan M. Bennett sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

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.