First Trust Advisors LP Sells 102,003 Shares of The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX)

First Trust Advisors LP reduced its position in The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX - Free Report) by 4.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,228,003 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock after selling 102,003 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP owned about 0.20% of TJX Companies worth $269,165,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Freedom Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in TJX Companies by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,208 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock valued at $629,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the period. Generation Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of TJX Companies in the fourth quarter worth about $285,000. Infusive Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of TJX Companies in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,575,000. GeoWealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of TJX Companies by 13.1% during the 4th quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 33,569 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock valued at $4,055,000 after buying an additional 3,890 shares during the period. Finally, Cadence Bank boosted its holdings in TJX Companies by 28.4% in the 4th quarter. Cadence Bank now owns 9,134 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock worth $1,103,000 after acquiring an additional 2,019 shares during the period. 91.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

TJX Companies Price Performance

Shares of TJX Companies stock traded up $1.16 during trading on Thursday, hitting $126.66. The stock had a trading volume of 1,386,670 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,368,644. The business has a fifty day moving average of $121.85 and a two-hundred day moving average of $121.21. The TJX Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $93.39 and a fifty-two week high of $131.30. The firm has a market cap of $141.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.82, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.19 and a quick ratio of 0.50.

TJX Companies (NYSE:TJX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The apparel and home fashions retailer reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.16 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $16.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.24 billion. TJX Companies had a net margin of 8.63% and a return on equity of 61.82%. On average, sell-side analysts expect 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a $0.425 dividend. This is an increase from TJX Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. This represents a $1.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.34%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. TJX Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling at TJX Companies

In related news, Director Alan M. Bennett sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.53, for a total transaction of $988,240.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Ernie Herrman sold 23,428 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.03, for a total value of $2,882,346.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 484,189 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $59,569,772.67. The trade was a 4.62 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on TJX Companies from $133.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. StockNews.com raised TJX Companies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday. Barclays boosted their price target on TJX Companies from $136.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $145.00 target price on shares of TJX Companies in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of TJX Companies from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $135.76.

TJX Companies 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.