TJX Companies Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:TJX)

The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX) saw unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Traders purchased 18,523 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 70% compared to the average volume of 10,882 call options.

TJX Companies Price Performance

TJX stock opened at $132.93 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $123.95 and a 200-day moving average price of $122.76. TJX Companies has a 52-week low of $97.53 and a 52-week high of $133.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $148.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.28, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a current ratio of 1.19.

TJX Companies (NYSE:TJX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The apparel and home fashions retailer reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.16 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $16.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.24 billion. TJX Companies had a net margin of 8.63% and a return on equity of 61.82%. Equities research analysts forecast that TJX Companies will post 4.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

TJX Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.425 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.28%. This is an increase from TJX Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. TJX Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.91%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on TJX. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of TJX Companies from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $145.00 price objective on shares of TJX Companies in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Citigroup upgraded shares of TJX Companies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $128.00 to $140.00 in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of TJX Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of TJX Companies from $136.00 to $133.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $137.25.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Alan M. Bennett sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Ernie Herrman sold 23,428 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 484,189 shares in the company, valued at $59,569,772.67. The trade was 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 owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On TJX Companies

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in TJX. Bogart Wealth LLC bought a new stake in TJX Companies in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC bought a new stake in TJX Companies in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. TCTC Holdings LLC grew its position in TJX Companies by 210.1% in the 1st quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 214 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares during the period. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. bought a new stake in TJX Companies in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new stake in TJX Companies in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Institutional investors own 91.09% of the company’s stock.

TJX Companies Company 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.