River Road Asset Management LLC Sells 352,844 Shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BJ)

River Road Asset Management LLC decreased its position in BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BJ) by 10.9% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 2,875,078 shares of the company’s stock after selling 352,844 shares during the period. BJ’s Wholesale Club accounts for 3.1% of River Road Asset Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. River Road Asset Management LLC’s holdings in BJ’s Wholesale Club were worth $237,136,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Blue Trust Inc. acquired a new position in shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club in the second quarter worth about $25,000. Davis Capital Management purchased a new stake in BJ’s Wholesale Club during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club by 375.6% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 371 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 293 shares in the last quarter. Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Finally, J.Safra Asset Management Corp purchased a new position in shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.60% of the company’s stock.

BJ’s Wholesale Club Stock Up 1.3 %

BJ’s Wholesale Club stock opened at $86.75 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.91, a P/E/G ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.24. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $83.11 and a 200-day simple moving average of $84.02. BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $63.08 and a one year high of $92.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.15 and a current ratio of 0.76.

BJ’s Wholesale Club (NYSE:BJ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 22nd. The company reported $1.09 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $5.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.15 billion. BJ’s Wholesale Club had a net margin of 2.62% and a return on equity of 36.12%. BJ’s Wholesale Club’s revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.97 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. will post 3.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on BJ shares. Roth Mkm lifted their price target on shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Melius Research began coverage on shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $90.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $75.00 to $92.00 in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Loop Capital boosted their price objective on BJ’s Wholesale Club from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised BJ’s Wholesale Club from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $76.00 to $78.00 in a report on Monday, August 26th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, BJ’s Wholesale Club currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $86.31.

Insider Activity at BJ’s Wholesale Club

In other BJ’s Wholesale Club news, CEO Robert W. Eddy sold 11,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.47, for a total transaction of $940,170.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 423,792 shares in the company, valued at approximately $36,221,502.24. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, SVP Joseph Mcgrail sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.57, for a total value of $83,570.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 13,566 shares in the company, valued at $1,133,710.62. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Robert W. Eddy sold 11,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.47, for a total value of $940,170.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 423,792 shares in the company, valued at approximately $36,221,502.24. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 34,000 shares of company stock worth $2,818,390 in the last three months. 2.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About BJ’s Wholesale Club

BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates warehouse clubs on the eastern half of the United States. It provides groceries, general merchandise, gasoline and other ancillary services, coupon books, and promotions. The company sells its products through the websites BJs.com, BerkleyJensen.com, and Wellsleyfarms.com, as well as the mobile app.