Ensign Peak Advisors Inc Grows Position in BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BJ)

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc increased its holdings in BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BJ) by 17.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 61,206 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,980 shares during the period. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc’s holdings in BJ’s Wholesale Club were worth $5,469,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club in the 4th quarter worth about $135,344,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its stake in shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club by 658.6% during the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,523,218 shares of the company’s stock valued at $136,100,000 after purchasing an additional 1,322,425 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club during the 4th quarter valued at about $85,550,000. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its position in shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club by 3,526.9% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 595,571 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,214,000 after buying an additional 579,150 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club by 10.6% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,268,889 shares of the company’s stock valued at $470,775,000 after buying an additional 504,958 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.60% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at BJ’s Wholesale Club

In other news, Director Robert Allan Steele sold 11,813 shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the director now directly owns 24,351 shares of the company’s stock, 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 SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Joseph Mcgrail sold 2,100 shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.74, for a total value of $251,454.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 14,240 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,705,097.60. The trade was a 12.85% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 328,505 shares of company stock valued at $37,452,686. Company insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Citigroup upgraded BJ’s Wholesale Club from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $115.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club in a research report on Friday, March 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on BJ’s Wholesale Club from $102.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on BJ’s Wholesale Club from $98.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, BJ’s Wholesale Club has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $112.12.

BJ’s Wholesale Club Trading Down 3.5%

Shares of NYSE:BJ opened at $107.85 on Wednesday. BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $76.33 and a 52-week high of $121.10. The stock has a market cap of $14.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.93, a PEG ratio of 4.50 and a beta of 0.59. 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 business has a 50-day moving average price of $114.09 and a 200-day moving average price of $102.18.

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

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.