First Horizon Advisors Inc. Purchases 1,862 Shares of The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX)

First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX) by 1.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 124,015 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock after buying an additional 1,862 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc.’s holdings in TJX Companies were worth $11,634,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in TJX Companies by 0.4% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 95,135,688 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock valued at $8,455,660,000 after acquiring an additional 392,783 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its position in TJX Companies by 13.1% in the third 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 during the period. Morgan Stanley grew its position in TJX Companies by 1.5% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 24,752,978 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock valued at $2,200,045,000 after acquiring an additional 371,163 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in TJX Companies by 2.3% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 13,734,141 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock valued at $1,220,690,000 after acquiring an additional 313,530 shares during the period. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC grew its position in TJX Companies by 0.9% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 9,054,237 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock valued at $804,741,000 after acquiring an additional 83,643 shares during the period. 91.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Ernie Herrman sold 20,000 shares of TJX Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.98, for a total transaction of $1,979,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 515,801 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $51,053,982.98. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other TJX Companies news, EVP Louise Greenlees sold 2,694 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 50,273 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,968,480.59. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Ernie Herrman sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 21st. The stock was 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 owns 515,801 shares in the company, valued at approximately $51,053,982.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

TJX Companies Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:TJX traded up $0.20 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $95.11. 5,085,017 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,082,808. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $97.03 and its 200-day simple moving average is $94.02. The TJX Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $75.65 and a one year high of $102.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The company has a market cap of $107.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.87.

TJX Companies (NYSE:TJX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The apparel and home fashions retailer reported $1.22 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.20 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.89 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that The TJX Companies, Inc. will post 4.07 EPS for the current year.

TJX Companies declared that its board has approved a share buyback 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 reacquire up to 2.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

TJX Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be given a $0.375 dividend. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.58%. 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 presently 34.46%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on TJX shares. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $105.00 price objective on shares of TJX Companies in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. UBS Group raised TJX Companies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $104.00 to $132.00 in a research note on Thursday. Redburn Atlantic lowered TJX Companies from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $100.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Monday, February 5th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on TJX Companies from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $104.29.

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.