Norges Bank Takes Position in BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BJ)

Norges Bank purchased a new position in BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BJ) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 1,514,767 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $135,344,000. Norges Bank owned 1.15% of BJ’s Wholesale Club as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Tortoise Investment Management LLC increased its stake in BJ’s Wholesale Club by 78.7% in the fourth quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 529 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 233 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club by 68.2% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 624 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in BJ’s Wholesale Club in the 3rd quarter worth about $55,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in BJ’s Wholesale Club by 151.2% during the 4th quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,168 shares of the company’s stock valued at $104,000 after buying an additional 703 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in BJ’s Wholesale Club by 34.7% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,257 shares of the company’s stock valued at $113,000 after buying an additional 324 shares during the period. 98.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on BJ. 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 research report on Monday, March 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on BJ’s Wholesale Club from $87.00 to $101.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club in a report on Friday, March 7th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on BJ’s Wholesale Club from $98.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price objective on BJ’s Wholesale Club from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, BJ’s Wholesale Club has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $108.71.

BJ’s Wholesale Club Stock Performance

Shares of BJ opened at $114.29 on Tuesday. 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 firm has a market cap of $15.05 billion, a PE ratio of 27.47, a P/E/G ratio of 4.50 and a beta of 0.28. BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $71.81 and a 12 month high of $118.40. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $105.33 and a 200-day moving average price of $95.17.

BJ’s Wholesale Club (NYSE:BJ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.86 by $0.07. BJ’s Wholesale Club had a return on equity of 35.41% and a net margin of 2.71%. The company had revenue of $5.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.29 billion. Equities research analysts predict that BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. will post 3.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other BJ’s Wholesale Club news, EVP William C. Werner sold 20,000 shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.41, for a total transaction of $2,208,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 31,308 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,456,716.28. The trade was a 38.98 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Robert Allan Steele sold 11,813 shares of the 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 24,351 shares in the company, valued at $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 insiders.

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.