Lazard Asset Management LLC Sells 51,740 Shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BJ)

Lazard Asset Management LLC lowered its holdings in shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BJ) by 16.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 268,910 shares of the company’s stock after selling 51,740 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC owned about 0.20% of BJ’s Wholesale Club worth $24,026,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Covestor Ltd grew its position in BJ’s Wholesale Club by 66.5% in the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 288 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC grew its position in BJ’s Wholesale Club by 78.7% during the fourth quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 529 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 233 shares in the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. grew its position in BJ’s Wholesale Club by 652.9% during the fourth quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 527 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 457 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in BJ’s Wholesale Club by 68.2% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 624 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 253 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. grew its position in BJ’s Wholesale Club by 9,700.0% during the fourth quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 784 shares of the company’s stock worth $70,000 after buying an additional 776 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.60% of the company’s stock.

BJ’s Wholesale Club Trading Down 3.5%

NYSE:BJ opened at $107.85 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.14. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $114.09 and a 200-day moving average of $102.18. The company has a market cap of $14.20 billion, a PE ratio of 25.93, a PEG ratio of 4.50 and a beta of 0.59. BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $76.33 and a one year high of $121.10.

BJ’s Wholesale Club (NYSE:BJ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $5.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.29 billion. As a group, equities research analysts expect that BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. will post 3.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Joseph Mcgrail sold 2,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.74, for a total transaction of $251,454.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 14,240 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,705,097.60. This represents a 12.85% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Robert W. Eddy sold 280,400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $114.31, for a total transaction of $32,052,524.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 422,033 shares in the company, valued at $48,242,592.23. This represents a 39.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 328,505 shares of company stock valued at $37,452,686 in the last three months. Company insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club from $98.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Argus upgraded shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Loop Capital raised their price target on shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $112.12.

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.