Provident Trust Co. Acquires 1,133,486 Shares of The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX)

Provident Trust Co. lifted its stake in shares of The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX - Free Report) by 71.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,723,149 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 1,133,486 shares during the period. TJX Companies comprises 5.7% of Provident Trust Co.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Provident Trust Co. owned about 0.24% of TJX Companies worth $328,984,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of TJX. State Street Corp grew its stake in TJX Companies by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 47,556,435 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock valued at $5,589,783,000 after acquiring an additional 469,287 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in TJX Companies by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 23,857,584 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock valued at $2,795,121,000 after acquiring an additional 363,707 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in TJX Companies by 7.5% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 9,182,564 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock valued at $1,079,319,000 after acquiring an additional 643,833 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in TJX Companies by 9.9% during the 3rd 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 acquiring an additional 657,529 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in TJX Companies by 13.3% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 7,031,237 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock valued at $850,428,000 after acquiring an additional 827,103 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.09% of the company's stock.

TJX Companies Stock Down 1.5 %

TJX traded down $1.90 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $121.08. 5,692,049 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,322,778. 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 TJX Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $92.35 and a 12-month high of $128.00. The firm has a market cap of $136.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.91. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $122.86 and a 200 day moving average of $119.48.

TJX Companies (NYSE:TJX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 20th. The apparel and home fashions retailer reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.05. TJX Companies had a return on equity of 61.82% and a net margin of 8.63%. The business had revenue of $14.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $13.95 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.03 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that The TJX Companies, Inc. will post 4.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

TJX Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.375 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 13th. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.24%. TJX Companies's payout ratio is 35.29%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

TJX has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of TJX Companies from $130.00 to $131.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of TJX Companies from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Guggenheim boosted their target price on shares of TJX Companies from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of TJX Companies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, November 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $134.18.

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.