Pinebridge Investments L.P. Purchases 155,646 Shares of The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX)

Pinebridge Investments L.P. grew its position in The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX - Free Report) by 29.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 683,952 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 155,646 shares during the period. TJX Companies accounts for 0.6% of Pinebridge Investments L.P.'s portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest holding. Pinebridge Investments L.P. owned about 0.06% of TJX Companies worth $82,628,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Bogart Wealth LLC bought a new position in TJX Companies in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of TJX Companies in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. bought a new position in shares of TJX Companies in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new position in TJX Companies during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC bought a new stake in TJX Companies during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. 91.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at TJX Companies

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on TJX. StockNews.com upgraded shares of TJX Companies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on TJX Companies from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on TJX Companies from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on TJX Companies from $138.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded TJX Companies from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $128.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $135.76.

TJX Companies Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of TJX traded up $0.14 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $126.64. The stock had a trading volume of 4,205,680 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,370,439. The company has a market cap of $141.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.86. The TJX Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $93.39 and a 52 week high of $131.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $121.89 and a 200 day moving average of $121.31.

TJX Companies (NYSE:TJX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The apparel and home fashions retailer reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.24 billion. 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. Shareholders 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 yield of 1.34%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This is a boost 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.