BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp Buys 27,397 Shares of The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX)

BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp raised its stake in The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX) by 14.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 215,975 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 27,397 shares during the period. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp’s holdings in TJX Companies were worth $26,092,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Bogart Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of TJX Companies during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. bought a new position in TJX Companies during the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new position in TJX Companies during the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Promus Capital LLC acquired a new position in TJX Companies in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Tacita Capital Inc bought a new stake in shares of TJX Companies in the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. 91.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

TJX Companies Stock Performance

NYSE:TJX opened at $130.97 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $146.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.94. 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 1 year low of $99.22 and a 1 year high of $135.85. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $125.49 and a 200-day moving average of $123.32.

TJX Companies (NYSE:TJX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 21st. The apparel and home fashions retailer reported $0.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $13.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.01 billion. TJX Companies had a return on equity of 61.82% and a net margin of 8.63%. The business’s revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.93 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that The TJX Companies, Inc. will post 4.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

TJX Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a $0.425 dividend. This represents a $1.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.30%. This is a boost from TJX Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. TJX Companies’s payout ratio is currently 39.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Alan M. Bennett sold 8,000 shares of the firm’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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, 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 value of $2,882,346.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 484,189 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $59,569,772.67. The trade was a 4.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on TJX Companies from $127.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. StockNews.com raised shares of TJX Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “equal weight” rating on shares of TJX Companies in a research note on Wednesday. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $145.00 target price on shares of TJX Companies in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of TJX Companies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $137.11.

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.