Pioneer Trust Bank N A OR Acquires 3,655 Shares of The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX)

Pioneer Trust Bank N A OR increased its position in The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX) by 5.9% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 65,553 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,655 shares during the period. TJX Companies accounts for 1.8% of Pioneer Trust Bank N A OR’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest holding. Pioneer Trust Bank N A OR’s holdings in TJX Companies were worth $6,150,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Anchor Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of TJX Companies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of TJX Companies in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its stake in TJX Companies by 76.0% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 389 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. bought a new position in TJX Companies in the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, Gradient Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of TJX Companies by 86.7% during the fourth quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 478 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 222 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.09% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other TJX Companies news, CEO Ernie Herrman sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 approximately $51,053,982.98. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CEO Ernie Herrman sold 20,000 shares of the 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 transaction, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Louise Greenlees sold 2,694 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.83, for a total transaction of $266,248.02. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 company insiders.

TJX Companies Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of TJX stock traded up $0.41 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $98.91. The company had a trading volume of 5,336,646 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,083,868. The company’s fifty day moving average is $96.86 and its 200 day moving average is $94.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 0.64. The TJX Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $75.65 and a fifty-two week high of $102.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $112.06 billion, a PE ratio of 25.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.87.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $16.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.20 billion. TJX Companies had a net margin of 8.25% and a return on equity of 64.18%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.89 EPS. Research analysts expect that The TJX Companies, Inc. will post 4.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

TJX Companies declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, February 28th that allows the company to buyback $2.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the apparel and home fashions retailer to repurchase up to 2.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

TJX Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.375 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 15th. This is a positive change from TJX Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.52%. TJX Companies’s dividend payout ratio is 34.46%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

TJX has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group upgraded shares of TJX Companies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $104.00 to $132.00 in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Redburn Atlantic cut shares of TJX Companies from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $100.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Monday, February 5th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price 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. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $105.00 target price on shares of TJX Companies in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of TJX Companies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $100.00 to $110.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $104.29.

TJX Companies Company 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.