Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust Trims Stock Holdings in The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX)

Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust lowered its position in shares of The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX) by 4.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,402 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock after selling 164 shares during the quarter. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust’s holdings in TJX Companies were worth $411,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Bogart Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of TJX Companies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC bought a new position in TJX Companies in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. purchased a new stake in TJX Companies during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of TJX Companies in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of TJX Companies during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Institutional investors own 91.09% of the company’s stock.

TJX Companies Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of TJX opened at $128.14 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $143.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.19 and a quick ratio of 0.50. The TJX Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $93.39 and a 1 year high of $131.30. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $122.13 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $121.65.

TJX Companies (NYSE:TJX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The apparel and home fashions retailer reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.16 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $16.35 billion for 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%. On average, equities analysts expect that The TJX Companies, Inc. will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

TJX Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.425 per share. This represents a $1.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.33%. 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. TJX Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.91%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on TJX shares. Citigroup upgraded shares of TJX Companies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $128.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of TJX Companies from $136.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of TJX Companies from $133.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of TJX Companies from $148.00 to $151.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of TJX Companies from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, TJX Companies presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $137.38.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other TJX Companies news, CEO Ernie Herrman sold 23,428 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.03, for a total transaction of $2,882,346.84. Following the completion of 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Alan M. Bennett sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The shares were 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. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

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.