Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 325,003 Shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BJ)

Principal Financial Group Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BJ) by 20.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,241,050 shares of the company’s stock after selling 325,003 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in BJ’s Wholesale Club were worth $110,889,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in BJ. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 14,357,118 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,184,175,000 after purchasing an additional 966,528 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club by 60.1% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,387,592 shares of the company’s stock valued at $196,929,000 after purchasing an additional 896,263 shares in the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. boosted its holdings in BJ’s Wholesale Club by 4,834.5% in the third quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 625,205 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,567,000 after acquiring an additional 612,535 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its holdings in BJ’s Wholesale Club by 280.5% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 533,336 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,990,000 after acquiring an additional 393,181 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in BJ’s Wholesale Club by 7.6% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,763,931 shares of the company’s stock worth $408,926,000 after acquiring an additional 337,217 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.60% of the company’s stock.

BJ’s Wholesale Club Stock Performance

Shares of BJ opened at $105.23 on Wednesday. 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 $13.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.30, a PEG ratio of 4.69 and a beta of 0.32. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $97.19 and a 200 day moving average of $89.98. BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $68.36 and a 12 month high of $108.00.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on BJ. Roth Mkm increased their price target on BJ’s Wholesale Club from $75.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 25th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on BJ’s Wholesale Club from $90.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Citigroup increased their price target on BJ’s Wholesale Club from $94.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. TD Cowen increased their price target on BJ’s Wholesale Club from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on BJ’s Wholesale Club from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $94.88.

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.