Avalon Trust Co Cuts Position in The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX)

Avalon Trust Co lessened its stake in The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX) by 1.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 209,467 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock after selling 2,090 shares during the quarter. TJX Companies accounts for 1.8% of Avalon Trust Co’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest position. Avalon Trust Co’s holdings in TJX Companies were worth $25,306,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Congress Asset Management Co. increased its holdings in shares of TJX Companies by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 1,228,840 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock valued at $148,456,000 after purchasing an additional 13,036 shares in the last quarter. Atlas Legacy Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of TJX Companies in the 4th quarter valued at about $433,000. BLB&B Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of TJX Companies by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. BLB&B Advisors LLC now owns 81,079 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock valued at $9,795,000 after purchasing an additional 2,201 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in shares of TJX Companies by 12.1% in the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 34,186 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock valued at $4,130,000 after purchasing an additional 3,691 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boyd Watterson Asset Management LLC OH purchased a new position in shares of TJX Companies in the 4th quarter valued at about $604,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.09% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on TJX shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of TJX Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of TJX Companies from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of TJX Companies from $148.00 to $151.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of TJX Companies from $133.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of TJX Companies from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, TJX Companies has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $135.06.

TJX Companies Price Performance

TJX opened at $113.27 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $122.18 and its 200 day simple moving average is $120.20. 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 TJX Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $92.35 and a 1 year high of $128.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $127.34 billion, a PE ratio of 26.65, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.96.

TJX Companies (NYSE:TJX) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The apparel and home fashions retailer reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.16 by $0.07. TJX Companies had a net margin of 8.63% and a return on equity of 61.82%. The business had revenue of $16.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.24 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that The TJX Companies, Inc. will post 4.18 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other TJX Companies news, Director Alan M. Bennett sold 8,000 shares of TJX Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.53, for a total transaction of $988,240.00. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Ernie Herrman sold 23,428 shares of TJX Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.03, for a total transaction of $2,882,346.84. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 484,189 shares in the company, valued at approximately $59,569,772.67. This trade represents a 4.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

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.