Franklin Resources Inc. Buys 504,958 Shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BJ)

Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BJ) by 10.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,268,889 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 504,958 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 3.99% of BJ’s Wholesale Club worth $470,775,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new position in shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club in the 3rd quarter valued at about $828,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its position in BJ’s Wholesale Club by 129.0% in the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 38,984 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,215,000 after acquiring an additional 21,957 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club by 278.6% in the fourth quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 53,968 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,822,000 after purchasing an additional 39,713 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $307,000. Finally, Wealthfront Advisers LLC grew its position in shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club by 1,462.2% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. 98.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on BJ. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club from $80.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Loop Capital boosted their price target on BJ’s Wholesale Club from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note 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 stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price target on BJ’s Wholesale Club from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $108.71.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Robert Allan Steele sold 11,813 shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP William C. Werner sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 31,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,456,716.28. This represents a 38.98 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

BJ’s Wholesale Club Trading Up 2.1 %

Shares of BJ opened at $114.29 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $105.33 and a 200-day simple moving average of $95.17. The stock has a market cap of $15.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.50 and a beta of 0.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.14. BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $71.81 and a 1-year high of $118.40.

BJ’s Wholesale Club (NYSE:BJ) last released 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 net margin of 2.71% and a return on equity of 35.41%. The company had revenue of $5.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.29 billion. Equities analysts forecast that BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. will post 3.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.