AIA Group Ltd Sells 13,855 Shares of The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX)

AIA Group Ltd lowered its holdings in The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX - Free Report) by 78.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,813 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock after selling 13,855 shares during the period. AIA Group Ltd's holdings in TJX Companies were worth $461,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bogart Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of TJX Companies in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC bought a new position in TJX Companies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of TJX Companies during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. bought a new stake in shares of TJX Companies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of TJX Companies in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. 91.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on TJX shares. Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and set a $145.00 target price on shares of TJX Companies in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Citigroup raised shares of TJX Companies from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the company from $128.00 to $140.00 in a report on Thursday. Barclays lifted their price target on TJX Companies from $136.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on TJX Companies from $138.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on TJX Companies from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, TJX Companies has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $135.76.

Insider Buying and Selling at TJX Companies

In other news, Director Alan M. Bennett sold 8,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.53, for a total value of $988,240.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Ernie Herrman sold 23,428 shares of TJX Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.03, for a total transaction of $2,882,346.84. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 484,189 shares in the company, valued at $59,569,772.67. This trade represents a 4.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

TJX Companies Stock Performance

NYSE:TJX traded down $3.51 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $121.92. 12,959,431 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,264,766. The TJX Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $92.35 and a one year high of $128.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a current ratio of 1.19. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $121.69 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $120.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $136.20 billion, a PE ratio of 28.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.86.

TJX Companies (NYSE:TJX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The apparel and home fashions retailer reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.16 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $16.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.24 billion. TJX Companies had a net margin of 8.63% and a return on equity of 61.82%. Analysts anticipate that The TJX Companies, Inc. will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

TJX Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.425 per share. This represents a $1.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.39%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This is an increase from TJX Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. TJX Companies's dividend payout ratio is 39.91%.

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.