BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BJ) Shares Sold by Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. lessened its stake in shares of BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BJ - Free Report) by 19.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,057 shares of the company's stock after selling 4,910 shares during the quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.'s holdings in BJ's Wholesale Club were worth $2,289,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Covestor Ltd raised its stake in BJ's Wholesale Club by 66.5% in the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 288 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. increased its holdings in shares of BJ's Wholesale Club by 652.9% during the fourth quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 527 shares of the company's stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 457 shares in the last quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of BJ's Wholesale Club by 78.7% in the 4th quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 529 shares of the company's stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 233 shares during the last quarter. State of Wyoming purchased a new position in shares of BJ's Wholesale Club in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $69,000. Finally, TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. raised its position in shares of BJ's Wholesale Club by 9,700.0% in the 4th quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 784 shares of the company's stock valued at $70,000 after purchasing an additional 776 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.60% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Citigroup raised shares of BJ's Wholesale Club from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $115.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Roth Capital reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $106.00 price target (up previously from $101.00) on shares of BJ's Wholesale Club in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of BJ's Wholesale Club in a research note on Friday, March 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on BJ's Wholesale Club from $102.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their target price on BJ's Wholesale Club from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $116.12.

Insider Buying and Selling at BJ's Wholesale Club

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

BJ's Wholesale Club Trading Up 1.8%

BJ traded up $1.95 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $110.23. 1,630,782 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,373,003. The company has a market cap of $14.56 billion, a PE ratio of 25.43, a PEG ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.47. BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $76.33 and a 1-year high of $121.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The firm's fifty day moving average is $113.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $106.40.

BJ's Wholesale Club (NYSE:BJ - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 22nd. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.18 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.85 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities 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.