Merit Financial Group LLC Has $851,000 Stock Position in BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BJ)

Merit Financial Group LLC grew its position in BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BJ - Free Report) by 145.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 7,461 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 4,416 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC's holdings in BJ's Wholesale Club were worth $851,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of BJ's Wholesale Club by 2.1% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,915 shares of the company's stock worth $675,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of BJ's Wholesale Club by 10.0% in the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,645 shares of the company's stock valued at $188,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in BJ's Wholesale Club by 17,333.9% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 689,164 shares of the company's stock valued at $78,634,000 after purchasing an additional 685,211 shares during the last quarter. Boston Common Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in BJ's Wholesale Club during the first quarter valued at approximately $2,047,000. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its position in BJ's Wholesale Club by 25.2% during the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 865 shares of the company's stock valued at $99,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. 98.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

BJ's Wholesale Club Stock Performance

Shares of BJ's Wholesale Club stock opened at $111.07 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $114.93 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $105.59. 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 market cap of $14.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.70, a PEG ratio of 4.50 and a beta of 0.47.

BJ's Wholesale Club (NYSE:BJ - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 22nd. The company reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $5.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.18 billion. BJ's Wholesale Club had a return on equity of 35.41% and a net margin of 2.71%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.85 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. will post 3.96 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on BJ. Wall Street Zen raised BJ's Wholesale Club from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on BJ's Wholesale Club from $109.00 to $123.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on BJ's Wholesale Club from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. DA Davidson raised their target price on BJ's Wholesale Club from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Argus raised BJ's Wholesale Club to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, BJ's Wholesale Club presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $116.12.

Insider Activity

In other BJ's Wholesale Club news, Director Robert Allan Steele sold 11,813 shares of BJ's Wholesale Club stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.59, for a total transaction of $1,270,960.67. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 24,351 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,619,924.09. The trade was a 32.67% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP William C. Werner sold 20,000 shares of BJ's Wholesale Club stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.41, for a total transaction of $2,208,200.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 31,308 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,456,716.28. This represents a 38.98% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 346,405 shares of company stock worth $39,457,128 in the last three months. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

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.

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