Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV Buys 1,478 Shares of The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX)

Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV increased its stake in The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX) by 0.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 216,576 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,478 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV’s holdings in TJX Companies were worth $26,165,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in TJX Companies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,670,565,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of TJX Companies in the fourth quarter worth $570,342,000. Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in TJX Companies by 689.6% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,595,085 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock valued at $313,512,000 after buying an additional 2,266,415 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in TJX Companies by 15.2% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 13,985,826 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock valued at $1,689,628,000 after buying an additional 1,845,225 shares during the period. Finally, DJE Kapital AG purchased a new stake in TJX Companies during the 4th quarter valued at $140,068,000. 91.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

TJX Companies Stock Performance

TJX Companies stock opened at $127.60 on Friday. The TJX Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $94.32 and a twelve month high of $131.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The company has a market capitalization of $142.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.02, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.86. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $122.40 and its 200 day moving average is $121.78.

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

TJX Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.425 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This is a boost from TJX Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. This represents a $1.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.33%. TJX Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other TJX Companies news, CEO Ernie Herrman sold 23,428 shares of TJX Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.03, for a total value 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 approximately $59,569,772.67. The trade was a 4.62 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Alan M. Bennett sold 8,000 shares of TJX Companies stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.53, for a total value of $988,240.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of TJX Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. 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. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on TJX Companies from $138.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Citigroup raised TJX Companies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $128.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of TJX Companies from $148.00 to $151.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $137.06.

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.