Ensign Peak Advisors Inc Sells 153,588 Shares of The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX)

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc reduced its stake in The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX) by 4.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,113,987 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock after selling 153,588 shares during the quarter. TJX Companies makes up 0.7% of Ensign Peak Advisors Inc’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc’s holdings in TJX Companies were worth $376,201,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in TJX Companies in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,670,565,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of TJX Companies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $570,342,000. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in TJX Companies by 689.6% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,595,085 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock worth $313,512,000 after acquiring an additional 2,266,415 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in TJX Companies by 15.2% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 13,985,826 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock worth $1,689,628,000 after purchasing an additional 1,845,225 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DJE Kapital AG bought a new position in TJX Companies in the 4th quarter valued at $140,068,000. 91.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

TJX Companies Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of TJX opened at $128.16 on Friday. The TJX Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $97.53 and a twelve month high of $131.30. The stock has a market cap of $143.17 billion, a PE ratio of 30.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a quick ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $122.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $122.19.

TJX Companies (NYSE:TJX) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The apparel and home fashions retailer reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.16 by $0.07. TJX Companies had a net margin of 8.63% and a return on equity of 61.82%. The business had revenue of $16.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.24 billion. On average, equities analysts forecast that The TJX Companies, Inc. will post 4.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

TJX Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a $0.425 dividend. This represents a $1.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.33%. 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 (DPR) is 39.91%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on TJX. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on TJX Companies from $136.00 to $133.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of TJX Companies from $136.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of TJX Companies from $133.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Citigroup upgraded TJX Companies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $128.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on TJX Companies from $125.00 to $115.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $136.94.

Insider Activity at TJX Companies

In other news, CEO Ernie Herrman sold 23,428 shares of TJX Companies stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now 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 legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Alan M. Bennett sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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. 0.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.