Insider Selling: BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BJ) EVP Sells 13,578 Shares of Stock

BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BJ) EVP Monica Schwartz sold 13,578 shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.81, for a total value of $1,070,082.18. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 13,545 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,067,481.45. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

BJ’s Wholesale Club Stock Performance

BJ opened at $77.02 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $73.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $69.27. BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $60.33 and a 52-week high of $80.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.14 and a current ratio of 0.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.24 billion, a PE ratio of 19.90, a PEG ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.26.

BJ’s Wholesale Club (NYSE:BJ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 7th. The company reported $1.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.05. BJ’s Wholesale Club had a return on equity of 40.84% and a net margin of 2.64%. The company had revenue of $5.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.38 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.00 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. will post 3.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BJ has been the topic of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club from $58.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $70.00 price objective (down from $73.00) on shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Gordon Haskett cut shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $70.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on BJ’s Wholesale Club from $84.00 to $80.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised BJ’s Wholesale Club from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $81.00 to $87.00 in a research note on Monday, April 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, BJ’s Wholesale Club presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $74.53.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in BJ’s Wholesale Club during the first quarter worth approximately $268,000. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its stake in BJ’s Wholesale Club by 44.3% in the 1st quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 7,180 shares of the company’s stock valued at $487,000 after acquiring an additional 2,203 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its holdings in BJ’s Wholesale Club by 104.7% during the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 10,961 shares of the company’s stock valued at $741,000 after purchasing an additional 5,607 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its position in BJ’s Wholesale Club by 7.4% during the first quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 12,440 shares of the company’s stock worth $843,000 after purchasing an additional 862 shares during the period. Finally, Great West Life Assurance Co. Can increased its holdings in shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club by 7.7% in the first quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 74,006 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,143,000 after purchasing an additional 5,272 shares during the last quarter. 98.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About BJ’s Wholesale Club

BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates warehouse clubs on the eastern half of the United States. It provides groceries, general merchandise, gasoline and other ancillary services, coupon books, and promotions. The company sells its products through the websites BJs.com, BerkleyJensen.com, and Wellsleyfarms.com, as well as the mobile app.