Clearbridge Investments LLC Cuts Stake in BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. $BJ

Clearbridge Investments LLC lowered its position in BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BJ) by 24.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,647,471 shares of the company’s stock after selling 521,266 shares during the quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC owned approximately 1.26% of BJ’s Wholesale Club worth $148,322,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of BJ. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in BJ’s Wholesale Club by 60.1% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 8,225,865 shares of the company’s stock worth $768,716,000 after buying an additional 3,087,151 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in BJ’s Wholesale Club in the fourth quarter worth approximately $151,765,000. Danica Pension Livsforsikringsaktieselskab purchased a new stake in BJ’s Wholesale Club in the third quarter worth approximately $110,523,000. State Street Corp boosted its stake in BJ’s Wholesale Club by 25.4% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,082,478 shares of the company’s stock worth $473,941,000 after buying an additional 1,028,779 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in BJ’s Wholesale Club by 32.9% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,272,839 shares of the company’s stock worth $305,192,000 after buying an additional 809,890 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.60% of the company’s stock.

BJ’s Wholesale Club Stock Performance

Shares of BJ stock opened at $89.22 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $93.05 and a 200 day moving average of $94.09. BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $83.65 and a 52 week high of $115.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.51, a PEG ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19.

BJ’s Wholesale Club (NYSE:BJ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 22nd. The company reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.04 by $0.06. BJ’s Wholesale Club had a return on equity of 26.67% and a net margin of 2.62%.The company had revenue of $5.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.44 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.14 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. BJ’s Wholesale Club has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.400-4.600 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. will post 4.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on BJ. Evercore reaffirmed a “positive” rating on shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. William Blair restated a “mixed” rating on shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club in a report on Thursday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club from $90.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $109.00 target price on shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, DA Davidson raised their target price on shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club from $110.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $105.27.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Joseph Mcgrail sold 2,050 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.19, for a total transaction of $186,939.50. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 14,769 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,346,785.11. The trade was a 12.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Robert W. Eddy sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.02, for a total transaction of $728,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 306,330 shares in the company, valued at $27,882,156.60. This represents a 2.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

About BJ’s Wholesale Club

BJ’s Wholesale Club, headquartered in Westborough, Massachusetts, is a membership-based warehouse retailer offering a wide range of products and services primarily to small businesses and individual consumers. The company operates large-format clubs that provide value-priced groceries, health and beauty products, electronics, home goods, furniture, seasonal items and automotive supplies. In addition to its in-club offerings, BJ’s features fuel stations at many locations and operates an e-commerce platform for online ordering and home delivery.

Founded in 1984 as a division of Zayre Corp., BJ’s Wholesale Club quickly expanded throughout the Northeastern United States.