Johnson Financial Group Inc. Grows Stake in The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX)

Johnson Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX) by 55.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,312 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,606 shares during the quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in TJX Companies were worth $686,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in TJX. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of TJX Companies in the 3rd quarter valued at $334,000. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of TJX Companies by 76.0% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 389 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 168 shares during the period. Lincoln National Corp increased its holdings in shares of TJX Companies by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Lincoln National Corp now owns 12,157 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock valued at $1,081,000 after acquiring an additional 498 shares during the period. Wilbanks Smith & Thomas Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of TJX Companies by 19.7% in the 3rd quarter. Wilbanks Smith & Thomas Asset Management LLC now owns 8,632 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock valued at $767,000 after acquiring an additional 1,419 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of TJX Companies by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 748,295 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock valued at $66,508,000 after acquiring an additional 18,400 shares during the period. 91.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Ernie Herrman sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now 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 accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Ernie Herrman sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now 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 accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Louise Greenlees sold 2,694 shares of the company’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 completion of 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

TJX Companies Stock Performance

Shares of TJX stock traded up $1.98 on Friday, hitting $102.14. The company had a trading volume of 5,625,167 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,899,514. The firm has a market cap of $115.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $97.27 and a 200-day moving average price of $95.12. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The TJX Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $75.65 and a twelve month high of $104.98.

TJX Companies (NYSE:TJX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 22nd. The apparel and home fashions retailer reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.87 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $12.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.48 billion. TJX Companies had a return on equity of 64.26% and a net margin of 8.47%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.76 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that The TJX Companies, Inc. will post 4.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

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 issued a $0.375 dividend. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 15th. This is a boost from TJX Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. TJX Companies’s payout ratio is 37.22%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on TJX Companies from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. UBS Group boosted their target price on TJX Companies from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. 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 note on Monday, February 5th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on TJX Companies from $110.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their target price on TJX Companies from $119.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $110.05.

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.