Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 61,614 Shares of BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BJ)

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its holdings in BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BJ - Free Report) by 5.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,179,436 shares of the company's stock after selling 61,614 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.90% of BJ's Wholesale Club worth $134,574,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its stake in shares of BJ's Wholesale Club by 264.2% in the 1st quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 414,974 shares of the company's stock valued at $47,349,000 after buying an additional 301,031 shares during the period. DAVENPORT & Co LLC grew its stake in shares of BJ's Wholesale Club by 10.5% in the 1st quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 3,042 shares of the company's stock valued at $347,000 after buying an additional 290 shares during the period. J.Safra Asset Management Corp grew its stake in shares of BJ's Wholesale Club by 72.4% in the 1st quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp now owns 2,577 shares of the company's stock valued at $294,000 after buying an additional 1,082 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System grew its stake in shares of BJ's Wholesale Club by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 146,460 shares of the company's stock valued at $16,711,000 after buying an additional 506 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its stake in shares of BJ's Wholesale Club by 9.2% in the 1st quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 5,558 shares of the company's stock valued at $634,000 after buying an additional 470 shares during the period. 98.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

BJ's Wholesale Club Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BJ traded down $2.93 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $107.56. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,565,764 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,687,858. BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $76.33 and a 12-month high of $121.10. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $112.57 and a 200-day moving average price of $107.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.01, a PEG ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.45. 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 (NYSE:BJ - Get Free Report) last announced 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 return on equity of 31.98% and a net margin of 2.76%. The firm had revenue of $5.15 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.18 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.85 EPS. The company's revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. will post 3.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on BJ shares. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on BJ's Wholesale Club from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. DA Davidson lifted their price target on BJ's Wholesale Club from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded BJ's Wholesale Club from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $135.00 price target (up previously from $129.00) on shares of BJ's Wholesale Club in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Loop Capital reiterated a "hold" rating and set a $120.00 price target (up previously from $110.00) on shares of BJ's Wholesale Club in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, BJ's Wholesale Club presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $116.12.

Insider Transactions at BJ's Wholesale Club

In related 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 owned 386,233 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $43,250,371.34. The trade was a 4.43% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Steven L. Ortega purchased 1,740 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was bought 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 in the company, valued at $990,258.60. This trade represents a 25.21% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

BJ's Wholesale Club 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.