Bridgewater Associates LP Sells 52,075 Shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BJ)

Bridgewater Associates LP cut its holdings in BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BJ) by 68.7% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 23,715 shares of the company’s stock after selling 52,075 shares during the period. Bridgewater Associates LP’s holdings in BJ’s Wholesale Club were worth $2,119,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in BJ. Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its stake in BJ’s Wholesale Club by 11.8% during 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 last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club by 278.6% during the 4th quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 53,968 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,822,000 after purchasing an additional 39,713 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd raised its holdings in BJ’s Wholesale Club by 151.8% during the 4th quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 19,784 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,768,000 after buying an additional 11,928 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. bought a new stake in BJ’s Wholesale Club in the fourth quarter worth $307,000. Finally, Wealthfront Advisers LLC boosted its stake in BJ’s Wholesale Club by 1,462.2% during the fourth quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 54,208 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,843,000 after buying an additional 50,738 shares during the period. 98.60% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club from $102.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Argus raised BJ’s Wholesale Club to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club in a report on Friday, March 7th. Citigroup upgraded BJ’s Wholesale Club from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $115.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club from $87.00 to $101.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, BJ’s Wholesale Club currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $110.82.

BJ’s Wholesale Club Trading Up 2.4 %

Shares of NYSE:BJ opened at $118.57 on Friday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $15.61 billion, a PE ratio of 28.50, a P/E/G ratio of 4.50 and a beta of 0.54. BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $72.38 and a 12-month high of $121.10. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $110.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $98.68.

BJ’s Wholesale Club (NYSE:BJ) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $0.93 EPS 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 business had revenue of $5.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.29 billion. As a group, equities research analysts predict that BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. will post 3.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at BJ’s Wholesale Club

In related news, CEO Robert W. Eddy sold 280,400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $114.31, for a total value of $32,052,524.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 422,033 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,242,592.23. This trade represents a 39.92 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert Allan Steele sold 11,813 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.59, for a total transaction of $1,270,960.67. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 24,351 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,619,924.09. This represents a 32.67 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 328,505 shares of company stock worth $37,452,686 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

About BJ’s Wholesale Club

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.