AQR Capital Management LLC Acquires 365,658 Shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BJ)

AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BJ) by 923.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 405,276 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 365,658 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC owned 0.31% of BJ’s Wholesale Club worth $36,163,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in BJ’s Wholesale Club by 10.6% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,268,889 shares of the company’s stock worth $470,775,000 after purchasing an additional 504,958 shares during the period. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 4,331,379 shares of the company’s stock worth $387,009,000 after acquiring an additional 43,106 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in BJ’s Wholesale Club by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,571,996 shares of the company’s stock valued at $229,808,000 after acquiring an additional 73,322 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in BJ’s Wholesale Club by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,486,903 shares of the company’s stock worth $222,205,000 after acquiring an additional 99,311 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its holdings in BJ’s Wholesale Club by 11.8% in the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 2,330,361 shares of the company’s stock worth $208,218,000 after purchasing an additional 245,731 shares during the period. 98.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on BJ shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on BJ’s Wholesale Club from $98.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Citigroup raised BJ’s Wholesale Club from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $115.00 to $130.00 in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. DA Davidson lifted their price target on BJ’s Wholesale Club from $123.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club from $115.00 to $110.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Argus raised shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, BJ’s Wholesale Club presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $110.82.

BJ’s Wholesale Club Trading Up 0.0 %

BJ’s Wholesale Club stock opened at $117.30 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $112.21 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $100.65. BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $73.93 and a 52-week high of $121.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The company has a market cap of $15.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.20, a P/E/G ratio of 4.50 and a beta of 0.54.

BJ’s Wholesale Club (NYSE:BJ) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.86 by $0.07. BJ’s Wholesale Club had a net margin of 2.71% and a return on equity of 35.41%. The business had revenue of $5.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.29 billion. Analysts predict that BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. will post 3.96 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at BJ’s Wholesale Club

In other news, Director Robert Allan Steele sold 11,813 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.59, for a total value of $1,270,960.67. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 24,351 shares in the company, valued at $2,619,924.09. The trade was a 32.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP William C. Werner sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.41, for a total value of $2,208,200.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 31,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,456,716.28. This represents a 38.98 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 328,505 shares of company stock valued at $37,452,686. Company insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

BJ’s Wholesale Club Profile

BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc engages in the operation of membership warehouse clubs. Its product categories include grocery, household and pet, television and electronics, furniture, computer and tablets, patio and outdoor living, lawn and garden, baby and kids, toys, home, health and beauty, appliances, and jewelry.