Buffington Mohr McNeal Increases Holdings in The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX)

Buffington Mohr McNeal grew its holdings in The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX) by 71.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 7,785 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,250 shares during the quarter. Buffington Mohr McNeal’s holdings in TJX Companies were worth $790,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in TJX. Running Oak Capital LLC raised its holdings in TJX Companies by 10.9% during the first quarter. Running Oak Capital LLC now owns 111,987 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock worth $11,358,000 after purchasing an additional 11,036 shares in the last quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board lifted its position in TJX Companies by 15.9% in the first quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board now owns 69,380 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock valued at $7,037,000 after acquiring an additional 9,500 shares during the last quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in TJX Companies by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. now owns 603,482 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock valued at $56,613,000 after acquiring an additional 21,767 shares in the last quarter. Savoir Faire Capital Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of TJX Companies during the third quarter worth about $3,197,000. Finally, Gateway Investment Advisers LLC increased its position in shares of TJX Companies by 42.9% during the fourth quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 19,108 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock worth $1,793,000 after purchasing an additional 5,737 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.09% of the company’s stock.

TJX Companies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE TJX traded down $0.38 on Tuesday, hitting $110.20. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,760,411 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,559,586. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $102.81 and a 200-day moving average of $98.44. The company has a market capitalization of $124.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.88. The TJX Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $82.25 and a 12-month high of $111.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 0.61.

TJX Companies (NYSE:TJX) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 22nd. The apparel and home fashions retailer reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.87 by $0.06. TJX Companies had a return on equity of 64.26% and a net margin of 8.47%. The firm had revenue of $12.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.48 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.76 EPS. TJX Companies’s quarterly revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that The TJX Companies, Inc. will post 4.09 EPS for the current year.

TJX Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th will be given a $0.375 dividend. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.36%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 15th. TJX Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.22%.

Insider Activity at TJX Companies

In other TJX Companies news, CEO Ernie Herrman sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.17, for a total value of $2,043,400.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 571,148 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $58,354,191.16. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CEO Ernie Herrman sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.17, for a total transaction of $2,043,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 571,148 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $58,354,191.16. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Amy B. Lane sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.07, for a total value of $153,105.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 23,470 shares in the company, valued at $2,395,582.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 50,003 shares of company stock valued at $5,060,941. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on TJX shares. Telsey Advisory Group raised their price target on TJX Companies from $112.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 23rd. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of TJX Companies from $109.00 to $114.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of TJX Companies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $100.00 to $110.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on shares of TJX Companies from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 23rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $114.00 target price on shares of TJX Companies in a research note on Tuesday, May 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $110.39.

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.