Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board Trims Stake in BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BJ)

Key Points

• Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board reduced its stake in BJ's Wholesale Club by 18.3%, owning 12,551 shares worth approximately $1.43 million after selling 2,816 shares in the first quarter.
• Several large investors, including Bank of New York Mellon and Bessemer Group, significantly increased their stakes in BJ's Wholesale Club, indicating strong investor interest.
• Research analysts have a positive outlook, with a majority rating the stock as a "buy"* and raising price targets, reflecting confidence in the company’s growth potential.

Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board cut its holdings in BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BJ - Free Report) by 18.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 12,551 shares of the company's stock after selling 2,816 shares during the quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board's holdings in BJ's Wholesale Club were worth $1,432,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Covestor Ltd increased its position 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 buying an additional 115 shares during the period. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in BJ's Wholesale Club during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $33,000. HM Payson & Co. bought a new stake in BJ's Wholesale Club during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in BJ's Wholesale Club during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Finally, Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new stake in BJ's Wholesale Club during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $51,000. 98.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BJ has been the subject of several research reports. UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $135.00 price target (up from $129.00) on shares of BJ's Wholesale Club in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of BJ's Wholesale Club from $109.00 to $123.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. DA Davidson lifted their price target on shares of BJ's Wholesale Club from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of BJ's Wholesale Club from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of BJ's Wholesale Club from $115.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, BJ's Wholesale Club presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $111.41.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Paul Cichocki sold 58,436 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.08, for a total transaction of $6,432,634.88. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 114,127 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,563,100.16. This represents a 33.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Steven L. Ortega purchased 1,740 shares of the firm'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 purchase, the director owned 8,641 shares of the company's stock, valued at $990,258.60. This represents a 25.21% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold 138,061 shares of company stock worth $15,027,745 in the last three months. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

BJ's Wholesale Club Stock Performance

Shares of BJ's Wholesale Club stock traded down $0.86 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $106.58. 711,185 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,815,847. 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 1 year low of $76.33 and a 1 year high of $121.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.79, a PEG ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.43. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $108.24 and a 200-day simple moving average of $109.86.

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