Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Stock Position Reduced by Knuff & Co LLC

Knuff & Co LLC lowered its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,585 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 141 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale comprises approximately 2.5% of Knuff & Co LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 9th largest holding. Knuff & Co LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $6,987,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in COST. Howard Financial Services LTD. raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. now owns 870 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $574,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. First National Corp MA ADV raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. First National Corp MA ADV now owns 3,098 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,045,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Morton Capital Management LLC CA raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Morton Capital Management LLC CA now owns 1,564 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,032,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Insight Advisors LLC PA raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Insight Advisors LLC PA now owns 2,736 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,807,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Optas LLC raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Optas LLC now owns 2,383 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,573,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Costco Wholesale stock traded up $11.46 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $743.90. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,323,300 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,605,560. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $329.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.65, a P/E/G ratio of 4.95 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 stock’s fifty day moving average price is $730.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $671.71.

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

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors of record on Friday, April 26th will be paid a $1.16 dividend. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 25th. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.62%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.35%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,785,786.85. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Costco Wholesale news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The shares were 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 owns 12,395 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,967,534.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of Costco Wholesale 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 approximately $4,785,786.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 3,727 shares of company stock valued at $2,682,948. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Tigress Financial raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $745.00 to $870.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $680.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $800.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $630.00 to $710.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $694.48.

About Costco Wholesale

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.