Geode Capital Management LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BJ)

Geode Capital Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BJ) by 0.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,215,235 shares of the company’s stock after selling 121 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC’s holdings in BJ’s Wholesale Club were worth $197,994,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in BJ. Norges Bank purchased a new position in BJ’s Wholesale Club in the fourth quarter worth about $135,344,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club by 658.6% in the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,523,218 shares of the company’s stock worth $136,100,000 after buying an additional 1,322,425 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in BJ’s Wholesale Club during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $85,550,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in BJ’s Wholesale Club by 10.6% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,268,889 shares of the company’s stock valued at $470,775,000 after buying an additional 504,958 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its position in BJ’s Wholesale Club by 11.8% in the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 2,330,361 shares of the company’s stock worth $208,218,000 after acquiring an additional 245,731 shares during the period. 98.60% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP William C. Werner sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.41, for a total value of $2,208,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 31,308 shares in the company, valued at $3,456,716.28. This trade represents a 38.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert Allan Steele sold 11,813 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.59, for a total transaction of $1,270,960.67. Following the transaction, the director now owns 24,351 shares in the company, valued at $2,619,924.09. This trade represents a 32.67 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 46,005 shares of company stock valued at $5,148,708 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on BJ shares. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “overweight” rating on shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Citigroup raised BJ’s Wholesale Club from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $115.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Thursday. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club from $87.00 to $101.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $110.82.

BJ’s Wholesale Club Trading Down 2.5 %

BJ stock opened at $115.54 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $106.88 and a 200 day moving average price of $96.17. BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $71.81 and a fifty-two week high of $120.43. The firm has a market cap of $15.21 billion, a PE ratio of 27.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.50 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.14 and a current ratio of 0.76.

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

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.