The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX) Announces Dividend Increase – $0.43 Per Share

The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX) announced a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, April 1st, Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a dividend of 0.425 per share by the apparel and home fashions retailer on Thursday, June 5th. This represents a $1.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.39%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This is a 13.3% increase from TJX Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38.

TJX Companies has raised its dividend by an average of 11.9% per year over the last three years. TJX Companies has a dividend payout ratio of 30.1% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect TJX Companies to earn $4.58 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.50 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 32.8%.

TJX Companies Price Performance

TJX stock opened at $122.68 on Wednesday. TJX Companies has a 52-week low of $92.35 and a 52-week high of $128.00. 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 stock has a market cap of $137.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.96. The business has a fifty day moving average of $121.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $120.28.

TJX Companies (NYSE:TJX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The apparel and home fashions retailer reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.16 by $0.07. TJX Companies had a return on equity of 61.82% and a net margin of 8.63%. The firm had revenue of $16.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.24 billion. As a group, research analysts anticipate that TJX Companies will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on TJX shares. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of TJX Companies from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on TJX Companies from $138.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on TJX Companies from $133.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on TJX Companies from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on TJX Companies from $136.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, TJX Companies presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $135.06.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other TJX Companies news, CEO Ernie Herrman sold 23,428 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 484,189 shares in the company, valued at $59,569,772.67. This trade represents a 4.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Alan M. Bennett sold 8,000 shares of TJX Companies 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. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of TJX Companies

An institutional investor recently raised its position in TJX Companies stock. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX) by 12.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,172 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 235 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in TJX Companies were worth $262,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). 91.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.