Alliancebernstein L.P. Purchases 1,322,425 Shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BJ)

Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its position in shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BJ) by 658.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,523,218 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,322,425 shares during the quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P.’s holdings in BJ’s Wholesale Club were worth $136,100,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Tortoise Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in BJ’s Wholesale Club by 78.7% in the fourth quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 529 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 233 shares during the period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. boosted its stake in shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club by 652.9% in the 4th quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 527 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 457 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club during the third quarter worth $55,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in BJ’s Wholesale Club by 68.2% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 624 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 253 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Avior Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in BJ’s Wholesale Club by 151.2% in the fourth quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,168 shares of the company’s stock valued at $104,000 after buying an additional 703 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.60% of the company’s stock.

BJ’s Wholesale Club Stock Performance

Shares of BJ opened at $115.00 on Wednesday. BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $71.81 and a 52 week high of $118.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.14 and a current ratio of 0.76. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $105.68 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $95.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.64, a P/E/G ratio of 4.50 and a beta of 0.28.

BJ’s Wholesale Club (NYSE:BJ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.86 by $0.07. BJ’s Wholesale Club had a return on equity of 35.41% and a net margin of 2.71%. The business had revenue of $5.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.29 billion. Equities analysts forecast that BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. will post 3.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on BJ shares. UBS Group lifted their price objective on BJ’s Wholesale Club from $108.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Loop Capital lifted their target price on BJ’s Wholesale Club from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on BJ’s Wholesale Club from $98.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club from $115.00 to $110.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, DA Davidson increased their target price on shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club from $123.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $109.94.

Insider Activity

In other BJ’s Wholesale Club news, Director Robert Allan Steele sold 11,813 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.59, for a total value of $1,270,960.67. Following the transaction, the director now owns 24,351 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,619,924.09. The trade was a 32.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP William C. Werner sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.41, for a total value of $2,208,200.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 31,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,456,716.28. This represents a 38.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.