Commerce Bank Sells 374 Shares of The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX)

Commerce Bank decreased its stake in The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX) by 0.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 105,397 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock after selling 374 shares during the period. Commerce Bank’s holdings in TJX Companies were worth $9,887,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in TJX. Norges Bank bought a new position in TJX Companies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,193,438,000. FMR LLC raised its stake in TJX Companies by 13.1% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 52,008,484 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock worth $4,622,514,000 after buying an additional 6,036,764 shares during the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its holdings in TJX Companies by 350.9% in the third quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 2,078,244 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock valued at $184,714,000 after buying an additional 1,617,367 shares during the period. J.P. Morgan Private Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in TJX Companies during the third quarter valued at $115,982,000. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd grew its holdings in TJX Companies by 105.9% during the 3rd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 2,378,802 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock worth $211,428,000 after acquiring an additional 1,223,303 shares during the period. 91.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Louise Greenlees sold 2,694 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.83, for a total transaction of $266,248.02. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 50,273 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,968,480.59. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other TJX Companies news, CEO Ernie Herrman sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.98, for a total transaction of $1,979,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 515,801 shares in the company, valued at $51,053,982.98. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Louise Greenlees sold 2,694 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.83, for a total transaction of $266,248.02. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 50,273 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,968,480.59. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

TJX Companies Stock Up 2.0 %

TJX stock traded up $1.98 during trading on Friday, reaching $102.14. The stock had a trading volume of 5,625,167 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,899,514. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The company has a market capitalization of $115.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.87. The TJX Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $75.65 and a one year high of $104.98. The company’s 50 day moving average is $97.27 and its two-hundred day moving average is $95.09.

TJX Companies (NYSE:TJX) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 22nd. The apparel and home fashions retailer reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.87 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $12.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.48 billion. TJX Companies had a return on equity of 64.26% and a net margin of 8.47%. TJX Companies’s quarterly revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.76 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that The TJX Companies, Inc. will post 4.08 EPS for the current year.

TJX Companies announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, February 28th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the apparel and home fashions retailer to reacquire up to 2.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

TJX Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.375 per share. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 15th. This is an increase from TJX Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. TJX Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.22%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on TJX. Telsey Advisory Group upped their target price on TJX Companies from $112.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on shares of TJX Companies from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of TJX Companies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $100.00 to $110.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of TJX Companies from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Evercore ISI set a $113.00 price objective on shares of TJX Companies in a report on Tuesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $110.05.

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.