The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX) Stake Reduced by Empire Life Investments Inc.

Empire Life Investments Inc. reduced its holdings in The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX) by 11.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 236,339 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock after selling 31,177 shares during the quarter. TJX Companies accounts for 1.9% of Empire Life Investments Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Empire Life Investments Inc.’s holdings in TJX Companies were worth $28,786,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in TJX. Shell Asset Management Co. increased its holdings in shares of TJX Companies by 16.5% in the fourth 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 buying an additional 4,128 shares in the last quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC boosted its position in shares of TJX Companies by 10.1% in the 4th quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 736,616 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock valued at $88,992,000 after purchasing an additional 67,853 shares during the period. Ethic Inc. boosted its position in shares of TJX Companies by 21.1% in the 4th quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 167,169 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock valued at $20,196,000 after purchasing an additional 29,158 shares during the period. Fiduciary Trust Co increased its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 144,113 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc raised its holdings in TJX Companies by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc now owns 387,342 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock worth $46,989,000 after buying an additional 8,319 shares during the period. 91.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

TJX Companies Trading Up 1.1%

NYSE:TJX opened at $125.89 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $125.01 and its 200 day moving average price is $124.51. The TJX Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $107.71 and a 52 week high of $135.85. The company has a market capitalization of $140.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a current ratio of 1.16.

TJX Companies (NYSE:TJX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 21st. The apparel and home fashions retailer reported $0.92 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.02. TJX Companies had a return on equity of 58.81% and a net margin of 8.47%. The firm had revenue of $13.11 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.01 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.93 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that The TJX Companies, Inc. will post 4.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

TJX Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 4th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 14th will be given a dividend of $0.425 per share. This represents a $1.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 14th. TJX Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 40.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Daiwa America upgraded TJX Companies to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of TJX Companies from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of TJX Companies from $140.00 to $143.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of TJX Companies in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $147.00 target price (up from $137.00) on shares of TJX Companies in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, nineteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $141.06.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other TJX Companies news, Director Amy B. Lane sold 950 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.09, for a total transaction of $121,685.50. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 22,712 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,909,180.08. This represents a 4.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.