Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky Lowers Holdings in The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX)

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky cut its stake in The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX - Free Report) by 29.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 83,587 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock after selling 34,483 shares during the quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky's holdings in TJX Companies were worth $10,098,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in TJX. Bogart Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of TJX Companies in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of TJX Companies during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. purchased a new position in TJX Companies in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new stake in TJX Companies during the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of TJX Companies during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. 91.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other TJX Companies 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 value of $2,882,346.84. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 484,189 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $59,569,772.67. This represents a 4.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Alan M. Bennett sold 8,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.53, for a total transaction of $988,240.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

TJX Companies Stock Up 0.1 %

TJX traded up $0.14 during trading on Friday, hitting $126.64. 4,205,532 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,370,438. The stock has a market capitalization of $141.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.80, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.86. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $121.89 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $121.31. The TJX Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $93.39 and a 12-month high of $131.30. The company has a current ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

TJX Companies (NYSE:TJX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. 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. Analysts predict that The TJX Companies, Inc. will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

TJX Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a $0.425 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.34%. This is a boost from TJX Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. TJX Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.91%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on TJX. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $145.00 price target on shares of TJX Companies in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on TJX Companies from $133.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on TJX Companies from $138.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. 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 note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on shares of TJX Companies from $136.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average 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.