AIA Group Ltd Increases Position in The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX)

AIA Group Ltd lifted its stake in shares of The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX) by 33.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 49,200 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 12,276 shares during the quarter. AIA Group Ltd’s holdings in TJX Companies were worth $4,615,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of TJX. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in TJX Companies by 90,089.8% in the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 19,788,543 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock valued at $1,575,168,000 after buying an additional 19,766,602 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its position in TJX Companies by 88.1% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 26,619,778 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock worth $2,118,935,000 after acquiring an additional 12,468,119 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of TJX Companies in the 4th quarter valued at $891,631,000. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board acquired a new position in shares of TJX Companies during the 1st quarter valued at $408,331,000. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of TJX Companies by 13.1% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 52,008,484 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock valued at $4,622,514,000 after acquiring an additional 6,036,764 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.09% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on TJX. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of TJX Companies from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $105.00 price target on shares of TJX Companies in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Redburn Atlantic lowered shares of TJX Companies from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $100.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of TJX Companies from $95.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $102.19.

Insider Activity at TJX Companies

In related news, CEO Ernie Herrman sold 20,000 shares of TJX Companies stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 515,801 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $51,053,982.98. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Ernie Herrman sold 20,000 shares of TJX Companies stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 515,801 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $51,053,982.98. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Louise Greenlees sold 2,694 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.83, for a total transaction of $266,248.02. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 50,273 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,968,480.59. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

TJX Companies Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE TJX traded down $0.32 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $92.81. The company had a trading volume of 2,055,273 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,007,325. The TJX Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $75.65 and a one year high of $102.84. The company has a market capitalization of $105.15 billion, a PE ratio of 24.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.86. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $97.80 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $93.59. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

TJX Companies (NYSE:TJX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 28th. The apparel and home fashions retailer reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $16.41 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.20 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.89 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that The TJX Companies, Inc. will post 4.07 EPS for the current year.

TJX Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 16th will be paid a $0.375 dividend. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.62%. 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 38.86%.

TJX Companies announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Wednesday, February 28th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the apparel and home fashions retailer to buy up to 2.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

About TJX Companies

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.