First Financial Bank Trust Division Reduces Stock Position in The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX)

First Financial Bank Trust Division lessened its stake in The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX) by 1.3% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 31,136 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock after selling 401 shares during the period. First Financial Bank Trust Division’s holdings in TJX Companies were worth $3,158,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in TJX Companies by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 96,206,766 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock worth $9,025,157,000 after purchasing an additional 1,071,078 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in TJX Companies by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 24,752,978 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock worth $2,200,045,000 after purchasing an additional 371,163 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in TJX Companies by 7.9% in the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 14,219,312 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock worth $1,333,913,000 after purchasing an additional 1,046,148 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in TJX Companies by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 13,734,141 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock worth $1,220,690,000 after purchasing an additional 313,530 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in TJX Companies in the 4th quarter worth about $1,193,438,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.09% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other TJX Companies news, EVP Louise Greenlees sold 8,171 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.73, for a total transaction of $831,235.83. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 49,570 shares in the company, valued at $5,042,756.10. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Louise Greenlees sold 8,171 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.73, for a total value of $831,235.83. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 49,570 shares in the company, valued at $5,042,756.10. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Ernie Herrman sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.17, for a total value of $2,043,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 571,148 shares in the company, valued at $58,354,191.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 70,003 shares of company stock worth $7,040,541 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

TJX Companies Trading Down 0.1 %

TJX Companies stock traded down $0.13 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $110.09. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 881,684 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,465,105. The firm has a market capitalization of $124.42 billion, a PE ratio of 27.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.87. The TJX Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $80.15 and a 1 year high of $110.58. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $99.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $96.97.

TJX Companies (NYSE:TJX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 22nd. The apparel and home fashions retailer reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.87 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $12.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.48 billion. TJX Companies had a return on equity of 64.26% and a net margin of 8.47%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.76 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that The TJX Companies, Inc. will post 4.09 EPS for the current year.

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

TJX Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th will be given a $0.375 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.36%. TJX Companies’s payout ratio is 37.22%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

TJX has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised TJX Companies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $100.00 to $110.00 in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on TJX Companies from $110.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on TJX Companies from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 23rd. Telsey Advisory Group boosted their price objective on TJX Companies from $112.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 23rd. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on TJX Companies from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $110.37.

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.