Marshall Wace LLP Acquires 499,954 Shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BJ)

Marshall Wace LLP grew its stake in BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BJ) by 143.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 848,000 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 499,954 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP owned 0.64% of BJ’s Wholesale Club worth $74,488,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC grew its stake in BJ’s Wholesale Club by 158.9% in the second quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 4,189,932 shares of the company’s stock valued at $368,044,000 after purchasing an additional 2,571,709 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates increased its holdings in BJ’s Wholesale Club by 99.9% during the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 764,474 shares of the company’s stock worth $67,151,000 after buying an additional 382,114 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Management Inc. WI increased its holdings in BJ’s Wholesale Club by 17.6% during the fourth quarter. Fiduciary Management Inc. WI now owns 2,514,630 shares of the company’s stock worth $167,625,000 after buying an additional 377,019 shares during the last quarter. Delta Global Management LP bought a new stake in BJ’s Wholesale Club during the first quarter worth $27,214,000. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc acquired a new stake in BJ’s Wholesale Club in the fourth quarter valued at $21,550,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.60% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Robert W. Eddy sold 11,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.40, for a total transaction of $873,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 445,792 shares in the company, valued at $35,395,884.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Joseph Mcgrail sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.57, for a total value of $83,570.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 13,566 shares in the company, valued at $1,133,710.62. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Robert W. Eddy sold 11,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.40, for a total value of $873,400.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 445,792 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $35,395,884.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 79,438 shares of company stock valued at $6,980,938. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

BJ’s Wholesale Club Price Performance

BJ stock opened at $82.06 on Wednesday. BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $63.08 and a 1 year high of $92.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.15. The stock has a market cap of $10.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.24. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $83.81 and a 200 day simple moving average of $82.16.

BJ’s Wholesale Club (NYSE:BJ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 22nd. The company reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.09. BJ’s Wholesale Club had a net margin of 2.62% and a return on equity of 36.12%. The business had revenue of $5.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.15 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.97 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. will post 3.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on BJ shares. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Roth Mkm upped their price objective on BJ’s Wholesale Club from $68.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded BJ’s Wholesale Club from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $75.00 to $92.00 in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $76.00 to $78.00 in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Finally, Melius Research began coverage on shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club in a research report on Monday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $90.00 price objective on the stock. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, BJ’s Wholesale Club currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $86.31.

BJ’s Wholesale Club Company Profile

BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates warehouse clubs on the eastern half of the United States. It provides groceries, general merchandise, gasoline and other ancillary services, coupon books, and promotions. The company sells its products through the websites BJs.com, BerkleyJensen.com, and Wellsleyfarms.com, as well as the mobile app.