Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. Sells 214,314 Shares of BJ's Restaurants, Inc. $BJRI

Key Points

• Rockefeller Capital Management cut its BJ's Restaurants stake by 62.3% in the fourth quarter, selling 214,314 shares and ending with 129,469 shares worth about $5.1 million.
• Other institutional investors remain heavily involved in the stock, with institutions owning 99.95% of BJ's Restaurants; Vanguard, UBS, and several others also increased their holdings.
• Analysts are cautious overall: BJRI has a consensus Hold rating with an average price target of $42, even as the stock recently traded up to around $59.88 and touched a 52-week high of $60.77.

Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. lowered its stake in BJ's Restaurants, Inc. (NASDAQ:BJRI - Free Report) by 62.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 129,469 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 214,314 shares during the period. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. owned 0.61% of BJ's Restaurants worth $5,101,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of BJ's Restaurants by 23.5% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,362,763 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $102,665,000 after acquiring an additional 640,648 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG raised its position in BJ's Restaurants by 576.9% in the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,451,883 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $44,326,000 after purchasing an additional 1,237,383 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in BJ's Restaurants by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,084,001 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $42,709,000 after purchasing an additional 23,513 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake in shares of BJ's Restaurants by 48.8% during the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 935,375 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $28,557,000 after purchasing an additional 306,930 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of BJ's Restaurants by 7.6% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 886,918 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $27,078,000 after purchasing an additional 62,321 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.95% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on BJRI shares. DA Davidson started coverage on shares of BJ's Restaurants in a research note on Friday, March 6th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $38.00 price target for the company. Benchmark boosted their price objective on shares of BJ's Restaurants from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Barclays decreased their price objective on BJ's Restaurants from $42.00 to $38.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Mizuho cut their target price on BJ's Restaurants from $44.00 to $40.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered BJ's Restaurants from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, BJ's Restaurants has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $42.00.

BJ's Restaurants Trading Up 6.3%

NASDAQ:BJRI opened at $59.88 on Friday. BJ's Restaurants, Inc. has a 52 week low of $28.46 and a 52 week high of $60.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 0.31. The firm's fifty day moving average is $44.89 and its 200-day moving average is $41.54. The firm has a market cap of $1.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.35.

BJ's Restaurants (NASDAQ:BJRI - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The restaurant operator reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.61 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $358.12 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $356.97 million. BJ's Restaurants had a return on equity of 13.48% and a net margin of 3.15%.BJ's Restaurants's quarterly revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.59 EPS. Equities analysts expect that BJ's Restaurants, Inc. will post 2.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other BJ's Restaurants news, Director Lea Anne Ottinger sold 2,792 shares of BJ's Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.50, for a total value of $149,372.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 39,701 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,124,003.50. The trade was a 6.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Brian S. Krakower sold 7,341 shares of BJ's Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.17, for a total value of $405,002.97. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 4,721 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $260,457.57. The trade was a 60.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 63,817 shares of company stock worth $3,384,688. 4.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

BJ's Restaurants Company Profile

BJ's Restaurants, Inc is a publicly traded casual dining chain known for its deep‐dish pizzas, California‐style thin crust offerings and in‐house craft beer selections. Operating under the BJ's Restaurant & Brewhouse brand, the company combines a microbrewery concept with full‐service dining, offering an extensive menu that includes appetizers, salads, pasta dishes, sandwiches and the signature Pizookie dessert.

Founded in 1978 in Orange County, California, BJ's Restaurants began as BJ's Chicago Pizzeria, bringing a Chicago‐style pizza experience to the West Coast.

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