Alberta Investment Management Corp Acquires 12,323 Shares of BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BJ)

Key Points

• Alberta Investment Management Corp increased its stake in BJ's Wholesale Club by 49.1%, now owning 37,435 shares valued at approximately $4.27 million.
• Insider sales included EVP Paul Cichocki selling 43,825 shares, reducing his stake by 20.25%, and CEO Robert W. Eddy selling 17,900 shares, a decrease of 4.63%.
• Analysts currently have an average rating of "Moderate Buy" for BJ's stocks, with a price target of $111, following various recent upgrades and reissued ratings.

Alberta Investment Management Corp increased its position in shares of BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BJ - Free Report) by 49.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 37,435 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 12,323 shares during the quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp's holdings in BJ's Wholesale Club were worth $4,271,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of BJ's Wholesale Club by 66.5% during the fourth 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. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of BJ's Wholesale Club in the first quarter worth approximately $33,000. HM Payson & Co. acquired a new stake in shares of BJ's Wholesale Club during the first quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in BJ's Wholesale Club in the 1st quarter worth approximately $43,000. Finally, Wayfinding Financial LLC purchased a new position in BJ's Wholesale Club during the 1st quarter worth approximately $51,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.60% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at BJ's Wholesale Club

In other news, CEO Robert W. Eddy sold 17,900 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.08, for a total transaction of $1,916,732.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 368,333 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,441,097.64. The trade was a 4.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Steven L. Ortega purchased 1,740 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $114.60 per share, with a total value of $199,404.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 8,641 shares in the company, valued at approximately $990,258.60. This represents a 25.21% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 138,061 shares of company stock worth $15,027,745. Insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $135.00 price target (up previously from $129.00) on shares of BJ's Wholesale Club in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of BJ's Wholesale Club from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of BJ's Wholesale Club from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on BJ's Wholesale Club from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of BJ's Wholesale Club from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $111.00.

BJ's Wholesale Club Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BJ traded down $0.17 during trading on Thursday, reaching $108.50. 1,210,353 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,821,974. The company has a quick ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $76.33 and a fifty-two week high of $121.10. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $108.47 and a 200-day simple moving average of $109.43. The firm has a market cap of $14.33 billion, a PE ratio of 25.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.43.

BJ's Wholesale Club (NYSE:BJ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 22nd. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $5.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.18 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.85 earnings per share. BJ's Wholesale Club's quarterly revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. will post 3.96 earnings per share 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.