Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Holdings Lowered by Cannell & Co.

Cannell & Co. trimmed its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 62,959 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 211 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale comprises 1.3% of Cannell & Co.’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Cannell & Co.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $41,558,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 61,693.5% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,105,124 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,049,630,000 after purchasing an additional 3,100,099 shares during the last quarter. C WorldWide Group Holding A S acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $390,630,000. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth approximately $297,915,000. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 18.3% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,088,673 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,180,016,000 after purchasing an additional 323,346 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 34.8% in the 3rd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,161,630 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $656,274,000 after purchasing an additional 300,000 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, 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 value of $1,072,245.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,785,786.85. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Costco Wholesale news, 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 value of $1,072,245.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,785,786.85. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $723.48, for a total transaction of $1,043,258.16. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 12,395 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,967,534.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 3,727 shares of company stock valued at $2,682,948 in the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

NASDAQ:COST traded up $1.01 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $723.91. 458,996 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,025,948. The stock has a market capitalization of $321.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.12, a P/E/G ratio of 4.84 and a beta of 0.77. Costco Wholesale Co. has a twelve month low of $476.75 and a twelve month high of $787.08. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $730.40 and a 200 day moving average of $669.72. 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 released its earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.62 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $58.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $59.11 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.73% and a return on equity of 28.80%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.30 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.84 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Loop Capital lowered their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $830.00 to $820.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $630.00 to $710.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $680.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Roth Mkm lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $601.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $795.00 to $805.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $694.48.

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.