Heritage Trust Co Buys New Stake in The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX)

Heritage Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 3,606 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock, valued at approximately $436,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of TJX Companies by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 99,314,635 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock worth $11,998,201,000 after acquiring an additional 578,948 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of TJX Companies by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 24,322,579 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock worth $2,930,965,000 after purchasing an additional 464,995 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in TJX Companies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,670,565,000. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of TJX Companies by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 8,753,021 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock valued at $1,057,452,000 after buying an additional 363,879 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of TJX Companies by 9.9% in the third 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 buying an additional 657,529 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.09% of the company's stock.

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TJX Companies Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of TJX traded down $0.54 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $127.96. The company had a trading volume of 1,731,402 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,354,532. 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 firm has a fifty day moving average price of $121.70 and a 200-day moving average price of $120.82. The TJX Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $92.35 and a 52-week high of $131.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $142.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.86.

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

TJX Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a $0.425 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.33%. This is an increase from TJX Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. TJX Companies's dividend payout ratio is 39.91%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on TJX. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of TJX Companies from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. UBS Group upped their price objective on TJX Companies from $148.00 to $151.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on TJX Companies from $133.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Barclays raised their price objective on TJX Companies from $136.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded TJX Companies from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $128.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. 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, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $135.76.

Insider Activity

In other TJX Companies news, Director Alan M. Bennett sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.53, for a total value of $988,240.00. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Ernie Herrman sold 23,428 shares of TJX Companies stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.03, for a total value of $2,882,346.84. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 484,189 shares in the company, valued at $59,569,772.67. This trade represents 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.

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.