Townsend & Associates Inc Has $13.12 Million Stake in The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX)

Townsend & Associates Inc raised its position in The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX) by 78.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 138,122 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 60,859 shares during the quarter. TJX Companies makes up about 1.6% of Townsend & Associates Inc’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest holding. Townsend & Associates Inc’s holdings in TJX Companies were worth $13,115,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Insider Activity at TJX Companies

In other news, CEO Ernie Herrman sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 515,801 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $51,053,982.98. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other TJX Companies news, EVP Louise Greenlees sold 2,694 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 50,273 shares in the company, valued at $4,968,480.59. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Ernie Herrman sold 20,000 shares of TJX Companies stock in a transaction dated 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 $51,053,982.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

TJX Companies Price Performance

TJX stock traded up $0.50 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $99.00. The stock had a trading volume of 1,857,965 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,061,747. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $96.86 and a 200 day simple moving average of $94.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $112.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.52, a P/E/G 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. The TJX Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $75.65 and a 52 week high of $102.84.

TJX Companies (NYSE:TJX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The apparel and home fashions retailer reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.10. TJX Companies had a net margin of 8.25% and a return on equity of 64.18%. The business had revenue of $16.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.20 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.89 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that The TJX Companies, Inc. will post 4.1 EPS for the current year.

TJX Companies announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase 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 purchase 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. Investors of record on Thursday, May 16th will be given a dividend of $0.375 per share. This is an increase from TJX Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 15th. TJX Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.46%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on TJX shares. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of TJX Companies from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded 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 report on Thursday, April 25th. Redburn Atlantic downgraded TJX Companies from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $100.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 price target on shares of TJX Companies in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded TJX Companies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $104.00 to $132.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, TJX Companies currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.