Cerity Partners LLC Decreases Holdings in The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX)

Cerity Partners LLC lowered its stake in The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX) by 3.3% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 1,302,915 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock after selling 44,755 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in TJX Companies were worth $156,897,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of TJX Companies during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,670,565,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in TJX Companies during the fourth quarter valued at $570,342,000. DJE Kapital AG purchased a new stake in shares of TJX Companies in the fourth quarter valued at $140,068,000. Provident Trust Co. lifted its holdings in shares of TJX Companies by 71.3% in the 4th quarter. Provident Trust Co. now owns 2,723,149 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock worth $328,984,000 after acquiring an additional 1,133,486 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Wealth Planning LLC lifted its holdings in shares of TJX Companies by 39.1% in the 4th quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 3,658,245 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock worth $441,953,000 after acquiring an additional 1,027,456 shares during the last quarter. 91.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at TJX Companies

In other news, Director Alan M. Bennett sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.53, for a total transaction of $988,240.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Ernie Herrman sold 23,428 shares of TJX Companies stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 484,189 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $59,569,772.67. This trade represents a 4.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

TJX Companies Price Performance

Shares of TJX stock opened at $121.92 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $121.69 and its 200 day moving average is $120.40. The TJX Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $92.35 and a 1-year high of $128.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.19 and a quick ratio of 0.50. The company has a market cap of $136.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.69, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.86.

TJX Companies (NYSE:TJX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The apparel and home fashions retailer reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.16 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $16.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.24 billion. TJX Companies had a net margin of 8.63% and a return on equity of 61.82%. 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. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.425 per share. This represents a $1.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.39%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This is a positive change from TJX Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. TJX Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.91%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on TJX. Citigroup raised shares of TJX Companies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $128.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Thursday. UBS Group raised their price target on TJX Companies from $148.00 to $151.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on TJX Companies from $138.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Barclays lifted their target price on TJX Companies from $136.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of TJX Companies from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $135.76.

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.