Aviva PLC Buys 646,934 Shares of The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX)

Aviva PLC grew its position in shares of The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX - Free Report) by 113.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,216,486 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 646,934 shares during the period. Aviva PLC owned about 0.11% of TJX Companies worth $146,964,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of TJX. Congress Asset Management Co. lifted its stake in shares of TJX Companies by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 1,228,840 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock valued at $148,456,000 after acquiring an additional 13,036 shares during the last quarter. Atlas Legacy Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of TJX Companies in the fourth quarter worth approximately $433,000. BLB&B Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of TJX Companies by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. BLB&B Advisors LLC now owns 81,079 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock worth $9,795,000 after buying an additional 2,201 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in shares of TJX Companies by 12.1% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 34,186 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock worth $4,130,000 after buying an additional 3,691 shares during the period. Finally, Boyd Watterson Asset Management LLC OH purchased a new stake in TJX Companies during the 4th quarter valued at $604,000. 91.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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TJX Companies Stock Up 1.4 %

TJX stock traded up $1.64 on Wednesday, reaching $121.67. 3,081,853 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,308,908. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $121.40 and a 200-day simple moving average of $120.42. The company has a market cap of $135.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.86. The TJX Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $92.35 and a one year high of $128.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.19 and a quick ratio of 0.50.

TJX Companies (NYSE:TJX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The apparel and home fashions retailer reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.16 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $16.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.24 billion. TJX Companies had a return on equity of 61.82% and a net margin of 8.63%. Research analysts anticipate that The TJX Companies, Inc. will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current year.

TJX Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a $0.425 dividend. This represents a $1.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This is an increase from TJX Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. TJX Companies's dividend payout ratio is currently 39.91%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

TJX has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of TJX Companies from $133.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $145.00 price target on shares of TJX Companies in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on TJX Companies from $148.00 to $151.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on TJX Companies from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of TJX Companies from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $135.76.

Insider Activity

In other TJX Companies news, CEO Ernie Herrman sold 23,428 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Alan M. Bennett sold 8,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was 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. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

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.