Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Sells 493 Shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BJ)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lowered its stake in shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BJ) by 6.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 7,042 shares of the company’s stock after selling 493 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in BJ’s Wholesale Club were worth $629,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BJ. Tortoise Investment Management LLC grew its stake in BJ’s Wholesale Club by 78.7% during the fourth quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 529 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 233 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in BJ’s Wholesale Club during the third quarter valued at approximately $55,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club by 68.2% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 624 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares in the last quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club by 151.2% in the 4th quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,168 shares of the company’s stock valued at $104,000 after purchasing an additional 703 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club by 34.7% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,257 shares of the company’s stock worth $113,000 after buying an additional 324 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.60% of the company’s stock.

BJ’s Wholesale Club Stock Up 0.5 %

BJ’s Wholesale Club stock opened at $110.79 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $14.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.63, a PEG ratio of 4.50 and a beta of 0.28. 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 firm has a 50 day moving average price of $103.55 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $93.99.

BJ’s Wholesale Club (NYSE:BJ) last announced 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 business had revenue of $5.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.29 billion. Equities analysts predict that BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. will post 3.96 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at BJ’s Wholesale Club

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on BJ shares. TD Cowen raised their price objective on BJ’s Wholesale Club from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club from $101.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective 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. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club from $98.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $108.71.

BJ’s Wholesale Club Company 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.