BJ’s Wholesale Club (NYSE:BJ) Stock Price Down 4.4% Following Insider Selling

Shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BJ) were down 4.4% during mid-day trading on Thursday following insider selling activity. The stock traded as low as $71.86 and last traded at $71.97. Approximately 1,586,578 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 12% from the average daily volume of 1,418,848 shares. The stock had previously closed at $75.28.

Specifically, Director Christopher J. Baldwin sold 73,062 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 173,294 shares in the company, 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 hyperlink. In other news, CEO Robert W. Eddy sold 11,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.70, for a total transaction of $843,700.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 500,792 shares in the company, valued at $38,410,746.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Christopher J. Baldwin sold 73,062 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.95, for a total transaction of $5,402,934.90. Following the transaction, the director now owns 173,294 shares in the company, valued at $12,815,091.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 98,840 shares of company stock worth $7,408,605. Insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club from $79.00 to $78.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club from $58.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research 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 target price for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $70.00 target price (down previously from $73.00) on shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $81.00 to $87.00 in a research report on Monday, April 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $74.40.

BJ’s Wholesale Club Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $9.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.26. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $73.65 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $69.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

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

Institutional Trading of BJ’s Wholesale Club

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BJ. FMR LLC grew its position in BJ’s Wholesale Club by 39.7% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 16,013,702 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,142,898,000 after buying an additional 4,548,963 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley grew its position in BJ’s Wholesale Club by 180.8% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,615,939 shares of the company’s stock valued at $173,071,000 after buying an additional 1,684,174 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in BJ’s Wholesale Club by 145.7% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,422,594 shares of the company’s stock valued at $163,792,000 after buying an additional 1,436,785 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in BJ’s Wholesale Club during the fourth quarter valued at $89,816,000. Finally, Eaton Vance Management grew its position in shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club by 323.5% in the first quarter. Eaton Vance Management now owns 1,719,134 shares of the company’s stock valued at $116,230,000 after purchasing an additional 1,313,206 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.60% of the company’s stock.

About BJ’s Wholesale Club

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.