Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. Sells 4,801 Shares of The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX)

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. lessened its stake in shares of The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX) by 0.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 909,966 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock after selling 4,801 shares during the period. TJX Companies accounts for approximately 1.1% of Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in TJX Companies were worth $109,933,000 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. Congress Asset Management Co. grew its holdings in TJX Companies by 1.1% during 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 buying an additional 13,036 shares in the last quarter. Atlas Legacy Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of TJX Companies in the fourth quarter valued at $433,000. BLB&B Advisors LLC increased its position in TJX Companies by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. BLB&B Advisors LLC now owns 81,079 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock worth $9,795,000 after purchasing an additional 2,201 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in TJX Companies by 12.1% during the fourth 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 bought a new position in TJX Companies during the fourth quarter valued at $604,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.09% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

TJX has been the topic of a number of research reports. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $145.00 target price on shares of TJX Companies in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on TJX Companies from $138.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on TJX Companies from $130.00 to $131.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on TJX Companies from $133.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on TJX Companies from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, TJX Companies presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $135.06.

TJX Companies Trading Down 1.2 %

NYSE TJX opened at $119.18 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $133.98 billion, a PE ratio of 28.04, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.96. The TJX Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $92.35 and a 12 month high of $128.00. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $122.77 and its 200-day moving average price is $120.37. The company has a current ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

TJX Companies (NYSE:TJX) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The apparel and home fashions retailer reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $16.24 billion. Equities research analysts forecast that The TJX Companies, Inc. will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Alan M. Bennett sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.53, for a total transaction of $988,240.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Ernie Herrman sold 23,428 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.03, for a total transaction of $2,882,346.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 484,189 shares of the company’s stock, 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. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.