American Trust Reduces Position in The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX)

American Trust trimmed its position in The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX - Free Report) by 20.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 57,713 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock after selling 15,071 shares during the period. TJX Companies accounts for 0.6% of American Trust's investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest position. American Trust's holdings in TJX Companies were worth $6,784,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of 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 worth $5,589,783,000 after acquiring an additional 469,287 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in TJX Companies by 1.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 23,857,584 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock worth $2,795,121,000 after purchasing an additional 363,707 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in TJX Companies by 33.4% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 12,241,176 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock worth $1,347,934,000 after purchasing an additional 3,063,318 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in TJX Companies by 7.5% in the third 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 worth $1,079,319,000 after purchasing an additional 643,833 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in TJX Companies by 9.9% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,271,499 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer's stock worth $837,951,000 after purchasing an additional 657,529 shares during the last quarter. 91.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

TJX Companies Price Performance

TJX stock traded down $1.57 during trading on Friday, hitting $124.85. 4,595,341 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,240,559. The TJX Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $88.58 and a 52 week high of $128.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a current ratio of 1.19. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $118.90 and a 200 day simple moving average of $114.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $140.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.75, a P/E/G ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.90.

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

TJX Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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 1.20%. TJX Companies's dividend payout ratio is presently 35.29%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of TJX Companies from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price 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. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of TJX Companies from $115.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Citigroup cut shares of TJX Companies from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their target price for the company from $110.00 to $128.00 in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, Guggenheim upped 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. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, TJX Companies currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $130.89.

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.