Jennison Associates LLC Cuts Stock Position in BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BJ)

Jennison Associates LLC trimmed its position in shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BJ) by 80.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 102,256 shares of the company’s stock after selling 431,080 shares during the quarter. Jennison Associates LLC owned about 0.08% of BJ’s Wholesale Club worth $9,137,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club by 375.6% during 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 during the last quarter. Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in BJ’s Wholesale Club during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club during the third quarter valued at approximately $55,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in BJ’s Wholesale Club by 198.6% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 863 shares of the company’s stock valued at $76,000 after acquiring an additional 574 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its position in shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club by 61.7% in the third quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 1,205 shares of the company’s stock worth $99,000 after buying an additional 460 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on BJ’s Wholesale Club from $92.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. UBS Group increased their price objective on BJ’s Wholesale Club from $102.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Roth Mkm increased their target price on shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club from $75.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 25th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on BJ’s Wholesale Club from $94.00 to $101.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $94.00.

BJ’s Wholesale Club Stock Performance

Shares of BJ opened at $104.83 on Thursday. 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 firm has a market cap of $13.85 billion, a PE ratio of 25.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.66 and a beta of 0.32. BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $65.04 and a 12-month high of $104.94. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $95.44 and its 200-day simple moving average is $88.88.

BJ’s Wholesale Club (NYSE:BJ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 21st. The company reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.29. The firm had revenue of $5.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.12 billion. BJ’s Wholesale Club had a net margin of 2.71% and a return on equity of 35.41%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.98 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. will post 3.95 EPS for the current year.

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.