Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC Purchases 2,571,709 Shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BJ)

Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BJ) by 158.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,189,932 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,571,709 shares during the period. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC owned about 3.16% of BJ’s Wholesale Club worth $368,044,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Thematics Asset Management grew its stake in shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Thematics Asset Management now owns 66,532 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,435,000 after acquiring an additional 992 shares in the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new stake in BJ’s Wholesale Club in the 4th quarter valued at $2,853,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in BJ’s Wholesale Club by 231.3% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 222,461 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,829,000 after buying an additional 155,316 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates boosted its stake in shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club by 99.9% during the 2nd 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. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club by 96.8% in the 1st quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 19,840 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,501,000 after acquiring an additional 9,759 shares in the last quarter. 98.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Loop Capital increased their price target on BJ’s Wholesale Club from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club from $72.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 24th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 24th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club from $86.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded BJ’s Wholesale Club from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $75.00 to $92.00 in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, BJ’s Wholesale Club has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $86.07.

BJ’s Wholesale Club Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BJ opened at $80.96 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $84.17 and its 200-day moving average is $81.96. The firm has a market cap of $10.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.25. 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 current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24.

BJ’s Wholesale Club (NYSE:BJ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 22nd. The company reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.09. BJ’s Wholesale Club had a return on equity of 36.12% and a net margin of 2.62%. The firm had revenue of $5.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.15 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.97 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. will post 3.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Joseph Mcgrail sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.57, for a total transaction of $83,570.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 13,566 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,133,710.62. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Joseph Mcgrail sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.57, for a total transaction of $83,570.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 13,566 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,133,710.62. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Robert W. Eddy sold 11,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.90, for a total transaction of $955,900.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 467,792 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,651,124.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 79,438 shares of company stock worth $6,980,938 in the last quarter. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.