Palisade Asset Management LLC Acquires 1,387 Shares of The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX)

Palisade Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX) by 1.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 120,027 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock after buying an additional 1,387 shares during the quarter. TJX Companies makes up 1.2% of Palisade Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest position. Palisade Asset Management LLC’s holdings in TJX Companies were worth $11,260,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in TJX. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of TJX Companies by 0.4% during 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 purchasing an additional 392,783 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased 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 worth $4,622,514,000 after purchasing an additional 6,036,764 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley increased 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 worth $2,200,045,000 after purchasing an additional 371,163 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in TJX Companies by 2.3% during the 3rd 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 purchasing an additional 313,530 shares during the period. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC lifted its position in TJX Companies by 0.9% during the 3rd 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 purchasing an additional 83,643 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.09% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Ernie Herrman sold 20,000 shares of the 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 515,801 shares in the company, valued at approximately $51,053,982.98. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other TJX Companies news, EVP Louise Greenlees sold 2,694 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 50,273 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,968,480.59. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Ernie Herrman sold 20,000 shares of TJX Companies 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 515,801 shares of the company’s stock, 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.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

TJX Companies Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of TJX stock traded up $0.58 on Wednesday, hitting $98.50. 4,383,632 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,062,408. The business has a 50-day moving average of $96.86 and a 200 day moving average of $94.23. The TJX Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $75.65 and a fifty-two week high of $102.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $111.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

TJX Companies (NYSE:TJX) last posted 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 net margin of 8.25% and a return on equity of 64.18%. The company had revenue of $16.41 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.20 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.89 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that The TJX Companies, Inc. will post 4.1 EPS for the current year.

TJX Companies announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, February 28th that allows the company to repurchase $2.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the apparel and home fashions retailer to buy up to 2.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

TJX Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be paid a $0.375 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.52%. This is a boost from TJX Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. TJX Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.46%.

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.