DDD Partners LLC Sells 48 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

DDD Partners LLC lessened its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.2% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 28,775 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 48 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale accounts for 2.6% of DDD Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 15th largest position. DDD Partners LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $18,994,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. IFG Advisory LLC raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 6.4% in the 4th quarter. IFG Advisory LLC now owns 3,942 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,602,000 after purchasing an additional 237 shares during the last quarter. Columbia Trust Co 01012016 increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Columbia Trust Co 01012016 now owns 3,861 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,549,000 after buying an additional 165 shares during the period. Gemmer Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Gemmer Asset Management LLC now owns 796 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $525,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. Canvas Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 14.1% in the 4th quarter. Canvas Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,367 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $934,000 after buying an additional 169 shares during the period. Finally, Kozak & Associates Inc. increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 26.2% in the 4th quarter. Kozak & Associates Inc. now owns 14,769 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $10,065,000 after buying an additional 3,066 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ COST opened at $732.08 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $324.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.07 and a beta of 0.77. 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 Co. has a 1-year low of $476.75 and a 1-year high of $787.08. The business’s 50 day moving average is $723.33 and its 200-day moving average is $641.98.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.62 by $0.09. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 28.80% and a net margin of 2.73%. The firm had revenue of $58.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $59.11 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.30 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.78 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 2nd were issued a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 1st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $662.30, for a total value of $927,220.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 13,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,220,540.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Costco Wholesale news, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $662.30, for a total value of $927,220.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 13,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,220,540.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director W Craig Jelinek sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $685.93, for a total value of $5,487,440.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 216,212 shares in the company, valued at approximately $148,306,297.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 15,582 shares of company stock valued at $10,736,778. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

COST has been the subject of several research reports. Loop Capital lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $710.00 to $755.00 in a research note on Friday, January 19th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $585.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 15th. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $570.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 15th. StockNews.com cut Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 8th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $693.00 to $741.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 21st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $668.50.

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.