Westwood Holdings Group Inc. Cuts Holdings in The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX)

Westwood Holdings Group Inc. cut its holdings in shares of The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX) by 1.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 206,449 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock after selling 2,646 shares during the period. Westwood Holdings Group Inc.’s holdings in TJX Companies were worth $24,941,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Shell Asset Management Co. boosted its holdings in shares of TJX Companies by 16.5% during the 4th quarter. Shell Asset Management Co. now owns 29,168 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock valued at $3,524,000 after acquiring an additional 4,128 shares during the last quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in TJX Companies by 10.1% in the fourth quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 736,616 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock worth $88,992,000 after purchasing an additional 67,853 shares during the last quarter. Ethic Inc. boosted its holdings in TJX Companies by 21.1% in the fourth quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 167,169 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock worth $20,196,000 after purchasing an additional 29,158 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Trust Co boosted its stake in shares of TJX Companies by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Fiduciary Trust Co now owns 2,891,186 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock worth $349,284,000 after buying an additional 144,113 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Congress Asset Management Co. boosted 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 worth $148,456,000 after buying an additional 13,036 shares during the last quarter. 91.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

TJX Companies Stock Up 1.3%

NYSE TJX opened at $135.05 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $124.69 and its 200 day moving average is $123.19. 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 TJX Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $97.53 and a 12 month high of $135.56. The stock has a market cap of $150.86 billion, a PE ratio of 31.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.94.

TJX Companies (NYSE:TJX) last released its 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. TJX Companies had a net margin of 8.63% and a return on equity of 61.82%. The firm had revenue of $16.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.24 billion. Research analysts predict that The TJX Companies, Inc. will post 4.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

TJX Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a $0.425 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.26%. This is a boost from TJX Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. TJX Companies’s payout ratio is presently 39.91%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

TJX has been the topic of a number of research reports. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $145.00 price target on shares of TJX Companies in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on TJX Companies from $127.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of TJX Companies from $138.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of TJX Companies from $136.00 to $133.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of TJX Companies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $128.00 to $140.00 in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $136.82.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Ernie Herrman sold 23,428 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $59,569,772.67. This represents a 4.62% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Alan M. Bennett sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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. 0.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.