BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BJ) Shares Sold by Blair William & Co. IL

Key Points

• Blair William & Co. IL reduced its stake in BJ's Wholesale Club by 9.5%, now owning approximately 374,120 shares valued at $42.7 million as of its latest SEC filing.
• Multiple brokerages, including Morgan Stanley and UBS Group, have increased their price targets for BJ's Wholesale Club, with a consensus target price now at $111.00.
• Insider transactions included Director Steven L. Ortega purchasing 1,740 shares, while CEO Robert W. Eddy sold 17,900 shares, indicating mixed insider sentiment.

Blair William & Co. IL lessened its position in shares of BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BJ - Free Report) by 9.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 374,120 shares of the company's stock after selling 39,375 shares during the period. Blair William & Co. IL owned about 0.28% of BJ's Wholesale Club worth $42,687,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in BJ. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in shares of BJ's Wholesale Club by 37.9% during the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 12,002 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,369,000 after buying an additional 3,299 shares during the last quarter. Commerce Bank lifted its holdings in BJ's Wholesale Club by 4.8% in the first quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 3,862 shares of the company's stock worth $441,000 after acquiring an additional 176 shares during the last quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in BJ's Wholesale Club in the first quarter valued at approximately $275,000. Alberta Investment Management Corp grew its holdings in shares of BJ's Wholesale Club by 49.1% during the first quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 37,435 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,271,000 after purchasing an additional 12,323 shares during the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE grew its holdings in shares of BJ's Wholesale Club by 1.1% during the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 18,924 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,159,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.60% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on BJ. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on BJ's Wholesale Club from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. DA Davidson increased their target price on BJ's Wholesale Club from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $135.00 target price (up from $129.00) on shares of BJ's Wholesale Club in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of BJ's Wholesale Club from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Roth Capital reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $106.00 price objective (up previously from $101.00) on shares of BJ's Wholesale Club in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, BJ's Wholesale Club presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $111.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other BJ's Wholesale Club news, Director Steven L. Ortega bought 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, for a total transaction of $199,404.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 8,641 shares of the company's stock, valued at $990,258.60. This trade represents a 25.21% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Robert W. Eddy sold 17,900 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $39,441,097.64. This represents a 4.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 79,625 shares of company stock worth $8,595,110. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

BJ's Wholesale Club Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BJ opened at $110.01 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $14.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.58, a PEG ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.14. BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $76.33 and a 12 month high of $121.10. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $108.89 and its 200 day moving average price is $109.37.

BJ's Wholesale Club (NYSE:BJ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 22nd. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $5.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.18 billion. BJ's Wholesale Club had a return on equity of 31.98% and a net margin of 2.76%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.85 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. will post 3.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.

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