Franklin Resources Inc. Raises Holdings in The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX)

Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX - Free Report) by 9.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,271,499 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock after buying an additional 657,529 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 0.64% of TJX Companies worth $837,951,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of TJX. Swedbank AB increased its position in shares of TJX Companies by 45.9% during the second quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,041,982 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock valued at $114,722,000 after acquiring an additional 327,684 shares in the last quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of TJX Companies by 31.8% in the 2nd quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 12,104 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock worth $1,333,000 after purchasing an additional 2,919 shares in the last quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of TJX Companies by 1.9% in the second quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,241 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock worth $797,000 after buying an additional 133 shares during the period. Old Port Advisors bought a new stake in TJX Companies during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $204,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of TJX Companies by 54.9% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 13,770 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock valued at $1,397,000 after purchasing an additional 4,881 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 91.09% of the company's stock.

TJX Companies Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE TJX traded down $1.57 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $124.85. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,160,282 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,238,753. The TJX Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $88.58 and a 12-month high of $128.00. 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 firm has a market cap of $140.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.90. The business's 50 day moving average is $118.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $114.92.

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

TJX Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 13th will be given a dividend of $0.375 per share. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.20%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 13th. TJX Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.29%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on TJX. Evercore ISI increased their price target on TJX Companies from $138.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of TJX Companies from $122.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Citigroup lowered TJX Companies from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $110.00 to $128.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on TJX Companies from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and set a $134.00 price target on shares of TJX Companies in a report on Friday, December 6th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, TJX Companies has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $130.89.

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.