Covea Finance Buys New Shares in BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BJ)

Covea Finance acquired a new stake in shares of BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BJ - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 22,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,567,000.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BJ. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of BJ's Wholesale Club during the 4th quarter worth $135,344,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its stake in shares of BJ's Wholesale Club by 658.6% in the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,523,218 shares of the company's stock valued at $136,100,000 after buying an additional 1,322,425 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of BJ's Wholesale Club in the 4th quarter valued at $85,550,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in BJ's Wholesale Club by 17,333.9% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 689,164 shares of the company's stock valued at $78,634,000 after buying an additional 685,211 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG boosted its stake in BJ's Wholesale Club by 3,526.9% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 595,571 shares of the company's stock valued at $53,214,000 after buying an additional 579,150 shares in the last quarter. 98.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

BJ's Wholesale Club Trading Up 1.8%

Shares of NYSE:BJ traded up $1.95 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $110.23. The stock had a trading volume of 1,630,782 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,666,814. The firm has a market cap of $14.56 billion, a PE ratio of 25.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.47. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $113.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $106.40. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $76.33 and a twelve month high of $121.10.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Robert W. Eddy sold 17,900 shares of BJ's Wholesale Club stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.98, for a total value of $2,004,442.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 386,233 shares in the company, valued at $43,250,371.34. This trade represents a 4.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP William C. Werner sold 14,192 shares of BJ's Wholesale Club stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.64, for a total transaction of $1,669,546.88. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 26,113 shares in the company, valued at $3,071,933.32. This trade represents a 35.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 314,592 shares of company stock worth $35,977,967. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on BJ shares. Citigroup raised BJ's Wholesale Club from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $115.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of BJ's Wholesale Club from $115.00 to $110.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Loop Capital reissued a "hold" rating and set a $120.00 price objective (up previously from $110.00) on shares of BJ's Wholesale Club in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Argus raised shares of BJ's Wholesale Club to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of BJ's Wholesale Club from $109.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $116.12.

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.