The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX) Increases Dividend to $0.43 Per Share

The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX) declared a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, April 1st, Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of 0.425 per share by the apparel and home fashions retailer on Thursday, June 5th. This represents a $1.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.36%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This is a 13.3% increase from TJX Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38.

TJX Companies has raised its dividend payment by an average of 11.9% per year over the last three years. TJX Companies has a dividend payout ratio of 30.1% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect TJX Companies to earn $4.58 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.50 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 32.8%.

TJX Companies Price Performance

Shares of TJX Companies stock opened at $124.99 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $140.51 billion, a PE ratio of 29.41, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.96. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $121.65 and a 200 day moving average of $120.31. The company has a current ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. TJX Companies has a 12 month low of $92.35 and a 12 month high of $128.00.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Ernie Herrman sold 23,428 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.03, for a total transaction of $2,882,346.84. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 484,189 shares in the company, valued at approximately $59,569,772.67. This trade represents a 4.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Alan M. Bennett sold 8,000 shares of TJX Companies stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The shares were 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. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On TJX Companies

A hedge fund recently raised its stake in TJX Companies stock. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX) by 12.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,172 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 235 shares during the quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in TJX Companies were worth $262,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. 91.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on TJX shares. Barclays upped their target price on shares of TJX Companies from $136.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on TJX Companies from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. StockNews.com upgraded TJX Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of TJX Companies from $133.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on shares of TJX Companies from $148.00 to $151.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $135.06.

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.