Westwood Holdings Group Inc. Acquires 6,731 Shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BJ)

Westwood Holdings Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BJ) by 2.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 248,993 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,731 shares during the quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc.’s holdings in BJ’s Wholesale Club were worth $22,248,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BJ. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in BJ’s Wholesale Club by 118.6% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 144,652 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,931,000 after purchasing an additional 78,470 shares during the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its stake in shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club by 30.3% in the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 10,647 shares of the company’s stock valued at $951,000 after acquiring an additional 2,477 shares during the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $272,000. HB Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $221,000. Finally, Diversify Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club by 48.9% in the fourth quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,761 shares of the company’s stock valued at $943,000 after acquiring an additional 3,207 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.60% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at BJ’s Wholesale Club

In related news, Director Robert Allan Steele sold 11,813 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at $2,619,924.09. This represents a 32.67% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP William C. Werner sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.41, for a total value 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 $3,456,716.28. This trade represents a 38.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 328,505 shares of company stock valued at $37,452,686. Corporate insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

BJ’s Wholesale Club Trading Up 1.6%

NYSE BJ opened at $118.27 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $114.16 and a 200 day simple moving average of $103.10. The company has a market capitalization of $15.57 billion, a PE ratio of 28.43, a P/E/G ratio of 4.50 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $76.33 and a 12 month high of $121.10.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on BJ. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on BJ’s Wholesale Club from $98.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club in a research note on Friday, March 7th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club from $130.00 to $129.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Finally, Citigroup upgraded shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $115.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $112.06.

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.