The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX) is Longview Partners Guernsey LTD's 5th Largest Position

Longview Partners Guernsey LTD cut its stake in shares of The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX - Free Report) by 5.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,571,546 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock after selling 302,678 shares during the quarter. TJX Companies makes up approximately 5.0% of Longview Partners Guernsey LTD's holdings, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Longview Partners Guernsey LTD owned about 0.50% of TJX Companies worth $673,098,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors grew its stake in TJX Companies by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors now owns 4,987 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock valued at $603,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Nwam LLC lifted its stake in shares of TJX Companies by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Nwam LLC now owns 4,338 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock valued at $524,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. One Charles Private Wealth Services LLC boosted its stake in TJX Companies by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. One Charles Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 1,805 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock worth $218,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the period. Breakwater Capital Group boosted its stake in shares of TJX Companies by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Breakwater Capital Group now owns 7,696 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock worth $930,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of TJX Companies by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 8,778 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock valued at $1,060,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. 91.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on TJX shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of TJX Companies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Barclays raised their price target on shares of TJX Companies from $136.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on TJX Companies from $138.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $145.00 price target on shares of TJX Companies in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on TJX Companies from $148.00 to $151.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, TJX Companies currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $135.76.

TJX Companies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE TJX traded up $1.20 during trading on Friday, reaching $127.51. 5,554,218 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,386,001. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $121.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $121.01. The company has a current ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The stock has a market cap of $142.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.00, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.86. The TJX Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $92.35 and a 12-month high of $131.30.

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 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.16 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $16.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.24 billion. TJX Companies had a net margin of 8.63% and a return on equity of 61.82%. As a group, research analysts anticipate 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.425 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This is a boost from TJX Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. This represents a $1.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.33%. TJX Companies's dividend payout ratio is currently 39.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Ernie Herrman sold 23,428 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 in the company, valued at $59,569,772.67. This trade represents a 4.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Alan M. Bennett sold 8,000 shares of TJX Companies 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.