Blue Fin Capital Inc. Acquires 554 Shares of The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX)

Blue Fin Capital Inc. lifted its position in shares of The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX) by 2.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 23,924 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock after buying an additional 554 shares during the quarter. Blue Fin Capital Inc.’s holdings in TJX Companies were worth $2,244,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. grew its stake in TJX Companies by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 5,846 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock valued at $548,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Alhambra Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of TJX Companies by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Alhambra Investment Management LLC now owns 5,433 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock valued at $510,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp raised its holdings in shares of TJX Companies by 9.9% during the 4th quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp now owns 1,196 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock worth $112,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the period. BSW Wealth Partners raised its stake in TJX Companies by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. BSW Wealth Partners now owns 5,623 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock worth $528,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the period. Finally, Insight Advisors LLC PA lifted its holdings in TJX Companies by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Insight Advisors LLC PA now owns 3,757 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock valued at $352,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.09% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. UBS Group upgraded TJX Companies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $104.00 to $132.00 in a research note on Thursday. 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. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of TJX Companies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $100.00 to $110.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of TJX Companies from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic lowered shares of TJX Companies from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $100.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $104.29.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Louise Greenlees sold 2,694 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.83, for a total value of $266,248.02. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 50,273 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,968,480.59. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Louise Greenlees sold 2,694 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 50,273 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,968,480.59. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, 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 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

TJX Companies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE TJX traded up $0.20 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $95.11. The company had a trading volume of 5,894,076 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,182,456. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $96.94 and its 200-day simple moving average is $94.06. 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 12 month low of $75.65 and a 12 month high of $102.84. The firm has a market cap of $107.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.64, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.87.

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

TJX Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.375 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.58%. This is a boost from TJX Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. TJX Companies’s payout ratio is currently 34.46%.

TJX Companies announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share 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 reacquire up to 2.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.