BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BJ) Shares Acquired by Ethic Inc.

Ethic Inc. grew its stake in BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BJ - Free Report) by 254.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 25,762 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 18,498 shares during the period. Ethic Inc.'s holdings in BJ's Wholesale Club were worth $2,302,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of BJ's Wholesale Club in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $135,344,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its position in shares of BJ's Wholesale Club by 658.6% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of BJ's Wholesale Club in the fourth quarter valued at $85,550,000. Deutsche Bank AG grew its position in shares of BJ's Wholesale Club by 3,526.9% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 595,571 shares of the company's stock valued at $53,214,000 after purchasing an additional 579,150 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of 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 valued at $470,775,000 after purchasing an additional 504,958 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.60% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. DA Davidson upped their price objective on BJ's Wholesale Club from $123.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on BJ's Wholesale Club from $98.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on BJ's Wholesale Club from $109.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. 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, Loop Capital boosted their price target on BJ's Wholesale Club from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $112.06.

Insider Buying and Selling at BJ's Wholesale Club

In related news, Director Robert Allan Steele sold 11,813 shares of BJ's Wholesale Club stock in a transaction on Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.59, for a total transaction of $1,270,960.67. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 24,351 shares in the company, valued at $2,619,924.09. This trade represents a 32.67% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP William C. Werner sold 20,000 shares of BJ's Wholesale Club stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.41, for a total transaction of $2,208,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 31,308 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,456,716.28. This represents a 38.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 328,505 shares of company stock valued at $37,452,686 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 2.00% of the company's stock.

BJ's Wholesale Club Price Performance

Shares of BJ stock traded up $5.26 on Friday, reaching $116.65. 2,875,744 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,673,444. The company has a market cap of $15.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.04, a P/E/G ratio of 4.50 and a beta of 0.59. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $113.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $102.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.14 and a current ratio of 0.76. BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $76.33 and a 1 year high of $121.10.

BJ's Wholesale Club (NYSE:BJ - Get Free Report) last posted its 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. BJ's Wholesale Club had a net margin of 2.71% and a return on equity of 35.41%. The company had revenue of $5.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.29 billion. Equities research analysts forecast that BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. will post 3.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About BJ's Wholesale Club

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.