National Bank of Canada FI Takes $6.43 Million Position in BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BJ)

National Bank of Canada FI acquired a new stake in BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BJ) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 56,238 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,425,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in BJ. Bank of Montreal Can raised its stake in shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club by 12.5% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 16,454 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,470,000 after buying an additional 1,826 shares in the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club during the 4th quarter worth about $385,000. Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in BJ’s Wholesale Club by 66.5% during the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 288 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in BJ’s Wholesale Club during the 4th quarter valued at about $384,000. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in BJ’s Wholesale Club by 104.2% during the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 295,314 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,386,000 after purchasing an additional 150,662 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BJ has been the subject of several analyst reports. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club from $115.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club from $109.00 to $123.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $127.00 price target (up from $125.00) on shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their price target on shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $111.41.

BJ’s Wholesale Club Stock Down 4.1%

Shares of NYSE:BJ opened at $103.51 on Thursday. BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $76.33 and a one year high of $121.10. The company has a 50 day moving average of $108.00 and a 200-day moving average of $109.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.14. The stock has a market cap of $13.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.07, a P/E/G ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.43.

BJ’s Wholesale Club (NYSE:BJ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 22nd. The company reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.23. BJ’s Wholesale Club had a net margin of 2.76% and a return on equity of 31.98%. The company had revenue of $5.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.18 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.85 EPS. BJ’s Wholesale Club’s revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. will post 3.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at BJ’s Wholesale Club

In other news, Director Steven L. Ortega acquired 1,740 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $114.60 per share, for a total transaction of $199,404.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 8,641 shares in the company, valued at $990,258.60. This trade represents a 25.21% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Paul Cichocki sold 58,436 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.08, for a total transaction of $6,432,634.88. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 114,127 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,563,100.16. This represents a 33.86% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 138,061 shares of company stock worth $15,027,745 in the last quarter. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

BJ’s Wholesale Club Company 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.