Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. Takes $312,000 Position in The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX)

Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. bought a new position in shares of The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 2,619 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock, valued at approximately $312,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of TJX Companies by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 47,556,435 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock worth $5,589,783,000 after buying an additional 469,287 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in TJX Companies by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 23,857,584 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock valued at $2,795,121,000 after purchasing an additional 363,707 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in TJX Companies by 33.4% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 12,241,176 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock valued at $1,347,934,000 after purchasing an additional 3,063,318 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in TJX Companies by 7.5% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 9,182,564 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock valued at $1,079,319,000 after purchasing an additional 643,833 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in TJX Companies by 9.9% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,271,499 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock valued at $837,951,000 after purchasing an additional 657,529 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 91.09% of the company's stock.

TJX Companies Price Performance

TJX stock traded up $0.51 during trading on Friday, reaching $121.89. 4,752,383 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,388,107. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.19 and a quick ratio of 0.50. The TJX Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $92.35 and a twelve month high of $128.00. The company has a 50-day moving average of $122.56 and a two-hundred day moving average of $117.51. The company has a market capitalization of $137.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.91.

TJX Companies (NYSE:TJX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 20th. The apparel and home fashions retailer reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.05. TJX Companies had a net margin of 8.63% and a return on equity of 61.82%. The firm had revenue of $14.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $13.95 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.03 EPS. The company's revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that The TJX Companies, Inc. will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

TJX Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 13th will be given a $0.375 dividend. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.23%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 13th. TJX Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.29%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on TJX shares. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of TJX Companies from $138.00 to $142.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $134.00 price objective on shares of TJX Companies in a report on Friday, December 6th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of TJX Companies from $148.00 to $151.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. StockNews.com raised shares of TJX Companies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, November 30th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of TJX Companies from $130.00 to $131.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, TJX Companies has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $131.33.

TJX Companies Company Profile

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.