WestEnd Advisors LLC Sells 28,867 Shares of The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX)

WestEnd Advisors LLC reduced its position in shares of The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX) by 7.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 380,940 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock after selling 28,867 shares during the quarter. TJX Companies accounts for about 1.2% of WestEnd Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. WestEnd Advisors LLC’s holdings in TJX Companies were worth $46,021,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of TJX Companies during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of TJX Companies during the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of TJX Companies in the third quarter worth $29,000. Copeland Capital Management LLC bought a new position in TJX Companies in the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in TJX Companies during the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.09% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Guggenheim lifted their price target on shares of TJX Companies from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on TJX Companies from $138.00 to $142.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. StockNews.com raised shares of TJX Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 30th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of TJX Companies from $130.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price target on TJX Companies from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. 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, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $133.53.

TJX Companies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE TJX opened at $124.64 on Friday. The TJX Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $92.35 and a fifty-two week high of $128.00. The company has a market cap of $140.11 billion, a PE ratio of 29.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a current ratio of 1.19. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $123.25 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $118.67.

TJX Companies (NYSE:TJX) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 20th. The apparel and home fashions retailer reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.05. TJX Companies had a net margin of 8.63% and a return on equity of 61.82%. The company had revenue of $14.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.95 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.03 EPS. TJX Companies’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that The TJX Companies, Inc. will post 4.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

TJX Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.375 per share. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.20%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 13th. TJX Companies’s payout ratio is 35.29%.

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.