Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC Grows Stake in The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX)

Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX) by 1.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 32,613 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 329 shares during the period. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in TJX Companies were worth $3,059,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in TJX. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of TJX Companies during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of TJX Companies during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of TJX Companies during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sachetta LLC bought a new stake in shares of TJX Companies during the 4th quarter worth $38,000. 91.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other TJX Companies news, EVP Louise Greenlees sold 2,694 shares of the company’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 sale, the executive vice president now 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 available through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Louise Greenlees sold 2,694 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 50,273 shares in the company, valued at $4,968,480.59. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Ernie Herrman sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.98, for a total transaction 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

TJX Companies Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE TJX traded down $0.06 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $96.36. 3,748,411 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,860,047. The TJX Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $75.65 and a 12-month 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 stock has a 50-day moving average price of $97.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $93.87. The firm has a market cap of $109.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.86.

TJX Companies (NYSE:TJX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The apparel and home fashions retailer reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $16.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.20 billion. TJX Companies had a net margin of 8.25% and a return on equity of 64.18%. TJX Companies’s quarterly revenue was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.89 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that The TJX Companies, Inc. will post 4.07 earnings per share for the current year.

TJX Companies announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, February 28th that permits the company to buyback $2.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the apparel and home fashions retailer to reacquire up to 2.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

TJX Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 15th. This is a boost from TJX Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. TJX Companies’s dividend payout ratio is 38.86%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on TJX shares. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of TJX Companies from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. 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 note on Monday, February 5th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of TJX Companies from $95.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $105.00 price target on shares of TJX Companies in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of TJX Companies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $100.00 to $110.00 in a research note on Thursday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, TJX Companies has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $102.65.

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.