Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) is C WorldWide Group Holding A S’s 8th Largest Position

C WorldWide Group Holding A S decreased its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 10.9% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 615,871 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 75,559 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale accounts for about 5.5% of C WorldWide Group Holding A S’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest position. C WorldWide Group Holding A S’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $406,524,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Richelieu Gestion SA purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 200.0% in the fourth quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 45 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the period. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Steph & Co. increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 42.3% during the third quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 74 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at about $49,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock traded up $7.32 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $729.18. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,524,431 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,663,722. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.43. Costco Wholesale Co. has a one year low of $476.75 and a one year high of $787.08. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $730.41 and a 200-day moving average price of $666.04. The stock has a market cap of $323.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.69, a P/E/G ratio of 4.81 and a beta of 0.77.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.62 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $58.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $59.11 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 28.80% and a net margin of 2.73%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.30 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.84 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 26th will be paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.64%. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 25th. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is presently 30.35%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on COST. Loop Capital reduced their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $830.00 to $820.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Tigress Financial increased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $745.00 to $870.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $800.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $610.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, Roth Mkm upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $601.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $694.48.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $714.83, for a total value of $1,072,245.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,695 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,785,786.85. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $722.86, for a total value of $567,445.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $7,228,600. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $714.83, for a total transaction of $1,072,245.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,785,786.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 3,727 shares of company stock worth $2,682,948 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Profile

Costco Wholesale Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the operation of membership warehouses in the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada, Mexico, Japan, the United Kingdom, Korea, Australia, Taiwan, China, Spain, France, Iceland, New Zealand, and Sweden. The company offers branded and private-label products in a range of merchandise categories.