Doheny Asset Management CA Decreases Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Doheny Asset Management CA trimmed its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 5.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,350 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 200 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale comprises 2.2% of Doheny Asset Management CA’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest position. Doheny Asset Management CA’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $2,211,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of COST. Vicus Capital grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter. Vicus Capital now owns 520 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $294,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 42.1% during the 3rd quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 1,516 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $857,000 after acquiring an additional 449 shares during the last quarter. Capital Advisors Inc. OK grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 26.0% during the 3rd quarter. Capital Advisors Inc. OK now owns 2,794 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,578,000 after acquiring an additional 576 shares during the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 19.5% during the 3rd quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 48,934 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $27,646,000 after acquiring an additional 7,970 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 22,541 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $12,735,000 after acquiring an additional 1,126 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 1.3 %

NASDAQ:COST traded up $9.30 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $731.52. 804,933 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,024,927. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $730.38 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $670.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $324.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.61, a P/E/G ratio of 4.81 and a beta of 0.77. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1 year low of $476.75 and a 1 year high of $787.08. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $59.11 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 28.80% and a net margin of 2.73%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.30 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business 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 is a boost from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 25th. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.63%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is presently 30.35%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $723.48, for a total value of $1,043,258.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 12,395 shares in the company, valued at $8,967,534.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $723.48, for a total value of $1,043,258.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 12,395 shares in the company, valued at $8,967,534.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of Costco Wholesale 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,228,600. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 3,727 shares of company stock worth $2,682,948. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on COST shares. StockNews.com lowered Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Tigress Financial lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $745.00 to $870.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Gordon Haskett lowered Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to an “accumulate” rating and set a $775.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $610.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, Loop Capital cut their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $830.00 to $820.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock 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, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $694.48.

Costco Wholesale Company 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.