Simplicity Solutions LLC Takes $719,000 Position in BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BJ)

Simplicity Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BJ) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 10,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $719,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in BJ. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club during the first quarter valued at about $268,000. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in BJ’s Wholesale Club by 44.3% during the first quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 7,180 shares of the company’s stock worth $487,000 after purchasing an additional 2,203 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in BJ’s Wholesale Club by 104.7% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 10,961 shares of the company’s stock worth $741,000 after purchasing an additional 5,607 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its holdings in BJ’s Wholesale Club by 7.4% during the first quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 12,440 shares of the company’s stock worth $843,000 after purchasing an additional 862 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Great West Life Assurance Co. Can boosted its holdings in BJ’s Wholesale Club by 7.7% during the first quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 74,006 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,143,000 after purchasing an additional 5,272 shares during the last quarter. 98.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

BJ’s Wholesale Club Stock Performance

NYSE BJ opened at $75.28 on Thursday. BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $60.33 and a 1 year high of $80.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.01 billion, a PE ratio of 19.45, a P/E/G ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.26. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $73.65 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $69.34.

BJ’s Wholesale Club (NYSE:BJ) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The company reported $1.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.05. BJ’s Wholesale Club had a net margin of 2.64% and a return on equity of 40.84%. The business had revenue of $5.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.38 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.00 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. will post 3.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at BJ’s Wholesale Club

In other news, Director Christopher J. Baldwin sold 73,062 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.95, for a total value of $5,402,934.90. Following the transaction, the director now owns 173,294 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,815,091.30. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, Director Christopher J. Baldwin sold 73,062 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.95, for a total value of $5,402,934.90. Following the transaction, the director now owns 173,294 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,815,091.30. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Joseph Mcgrail sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.37, for a total transaction of $77,370.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 12,905 shares in the company, valued at approximately $998,459.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 98,840 shares of company stock valued at $7,408,605 in the last quarter. Insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on BJ shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club from $58.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. Gordon Haskett cut shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $70.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $70.00 price target (down from $73.00) on shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club in a report on Thursday, January 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $81.00 to $87.00 in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club from $79.00 to $78.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $74.40.

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.