Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. Sells 1,527 Shares of The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX)

Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. lowered its stake in The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX) by 3.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 46,754 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock after selling 1,527 shares during the quarter. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in TJX Companies were worth $4,386,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of TJX. Fairfield Bush & CO. bought a new position in shares of TJX Companies during the first quarter valued at approximately $68,000. United Bank raised its holdings in shares of TJX Companies by 9.2% during the first quarter. United Bank now owns 15,197 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock valued at $921,000 after acquiring an additional 1,284 shares in the last quarter. AMI Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of TJX Companies during the first quarter valued at approximately $2,780,000. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its holdings in shares of TJX Companies by 69.0% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 38,304 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock valued at $2,320,000 after acquiring an additional 15,644 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of TJX Companies by 10.0% during the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 4,396 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock valued at $266,000 after acquiring an additional 398 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.09% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

TJX has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 target price on shares of TJX Companies in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on TJX Companies from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. UBS Group increased their price objective on TJX Companies from $95.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. Finally, Redburn Atlantic downgraded TJX Companies from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $100.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Monday, February 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $102.19.

TJX Companies Stock Performance

Shares of TJX Companies stock traded up $0.75 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $93.73. 2,512,032 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,027,740. 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 1 year low of $75.65 and a 1 year high of $102.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $106.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.09, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.86. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $97.97 and a 200-day simple moving average of $93.57.

TJX Companies (NYSE:TJX) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The apparel and home fashions retailer reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.10. TJX Companies had a return on equity of 64.18% and a net margin of 8.25%. The company had revenue of $16.41 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.20 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.89 earnings per share. TJX Companies’s revenue was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that The TJX Companies, Inc. will post 4.07 EPS for the current year.

TJX Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be paid a $0.375 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.60%. This is an increase from TJX Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. TJX Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.46%.

TJX Companies declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, February 28th that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the apparel and home fashions retailer to reacquire up to 2.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at TJX Companies

In other news, EVP Louise Greenlees sold 2,694 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.83, for a total value of $266,248.02. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 50,273 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,968,480.59. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, EVP Louise Greenlees sold 2,694 shares of TJX Companies stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 50,273 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,968,480.59. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Ernie Herrman sold 20,000 shares of TJX Companies 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 in the company, valued at approximately $51,053,982.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

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.