Cannell & Co. Cuts Holdings in The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX)

Cannell & Co. reduced its position in The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX) by 1.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 363,176 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock after selling 4,610 shares during the period. TJX Companies makes up about 1.1% of Cannell & Co.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest position. Cannell & Co.’s holdings in TJX Companies were worth $34,070,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. increased its stake in TJX Companies by 35.5% during the third quarter. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. now owns 73,466 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock worth $6,530,000 after acquiring an additional 19,236 shares during the last quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of TJX Companies by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. now owns 603,482 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock valued at $56,613,000 after buying an additional 21,767 shares during the period. Savoir Faire Capital Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of TJX Companies during the third quarter valued at approximately $3,197,000. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC boosted its position in shares of TJX Companies by 42.9% during the fourth quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 19,108 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock valued at $1,793,000 after buying an additional 5,737 shares during the period. Finally, Cape Cod Five Cents Savings Bank boosted its position in shares of TJX Companies by 109.1% during the third quarter. Cape Cod Five Cents Savings Bank now owns 148,954 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock valued at $13,239,000 after buying an additional 77,711 shares during the period. 91.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

TJX Companies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE TJX traded up $0.11 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $94.20. The stock had a trading volume of 1,582,708 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,011,097. 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 company has a 50 day moving average of $97.20 and a two-hundred day moving average of $94.02. The TJX Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $75.65 and a twelve month high of $102.84. The firm has a market cap of $106.73 billion, a PE ratio of 24.38, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.86.

TJX Companies (NYSE:TJX) last released its 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. TJX Companies had a return on equity of 64.18% and a net margin of 8.25%. The firm had revenue of $16.41 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.20 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.89 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that The TJX Companies, Inc. will post 4.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

TJX Companies announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program 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 purchase up to 2.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

TJX Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 16th will be given a $0.375 dividend. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.59%. This is an increase 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 is presently 34.46%.

Insider Activity at TJX Companies

In other TJX Companies news, CEO Ernie Herrman sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 515,801 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $51,053,982.98. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other TJX Companies news, CEO Ernie Herrman sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 515,801 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $51,053,982.98. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Louise Greenlees sold 2,694 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 $4,968,480.59. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 target price on shares of TJX Companies in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective 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. UBS Group boosted their price objective 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. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of TJX Companies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $100.00 to $110.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic downgraded shares of TJX Companies from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $100.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.