Lazard Asset Management LLC Sells 122,517 Shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. $BJ

Lazard Asset Management LLC lowered its stake in BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BJ) by 27.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 319,890 shares of the company’s stock after selling 122,517 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC owned 0.25% of BJ’s Wholesale Club worth $31,484,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in BJ. Ossiam purchased a new stake in BJ’s Wholesale Club during the 2nd quarter valued at $100,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club by 81.0% in the 2nd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 6,824 shares of the company’s stock worth $736,000 after buying an additional 3,054 shares during the last quarter. AXA S.A. purchased a new position in shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club in the 2nd quarter worth $1,094,000. Sei Investments Co. grew its holdings in shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club by 31.5% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 276,115 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,773,000 after acquiring an additional 66,204 shares during the period. Finally, BNP Paribas bought a new stake in shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club in the second quarter worth $105,000. Institutional investors own 98.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $109.00 price objective on shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on BJ’s Wholesale Club from $90.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Citigroup cut their price target on BJ’s Wholesale Club from $118.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of BJ’s Wholesale Club in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $110.00 price objective on the stock. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $105.27.

BJ’s Wholesale Club Trading Up 2.6%

Shares of BJ stock opened at $97.20 on Wednesday. BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $83.21 and a 1 year high of $110.92. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $89.19 and a 200-day moving average price of $93.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.18. The company has a market cap of $12.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.35, a PEG ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 0.22.

BJ’s Wholesale Club (NYSE:BJ) last announced its earnings results on Friday, May 22nd. The company reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.04 by $0.06. BJ’s Wholesale Club had a return on equity of 26.67% and a net margin of 2.62%.The company had revenue of $5.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.44 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.14 EPS. BJ’s Wholesale Club’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. BJ’s Wholesale Club has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.400-4.600 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. will post 4.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other BJ’s Wholesale Club news, EVP Scott Schmadeke sold 16,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.17, for a total value of $1,520,805.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 20,471 shares in the company, valued at $1,886,812.07. This represents a 44.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About BJ’s Wholesale Club

BJ’s Wholesale Club, headquartered in Westborough, Massachusetts, is a membership-based warehouse retailer offering a wide range of products and services primarily to small businesses and individual consumers. The company operates large-format clubs that provide value-priced groceries, health and beauty products, electronics, home goods, furniture, seasonal items and automotive supplies. In addition to its in-club offerings, BJ’s features fuel stations at many locations and operates an e-commerce platform for online ordering and home delivery.

Founded in 1984 as a division of Zayre Corp., BJ’s Wholesale Club quickly expanded throughout the Northeastern United States.