Ancora Advisors LLC Sells 337 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Ancora Advisors LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 1.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 18,152 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 337 shares during the period. Ancora Advisors LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $16,632,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,201,610 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $38,668,069,000 after purchasing an additional 455,043 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,739,175 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $8,901,249,000 after buying an additional 252,118 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,457,824 shares of the retailer's stock worth $8,665,921,000 after acquiring an additional 149,209 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $5,182,316,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 12.6% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,257,809 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $4,817,573,000 after purchasing an additional 587,303 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.9 %

COST opened at $1,008.30 on Friday. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $961.44 and its 200-day moving average price is $958.94. The stock has a market cap of $447.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.21, a P/E/G ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.98. Costco Wholesale Co. has a one year low of $733.35 and a one year high of $1,078.24.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.09 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $63.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $63.02 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 32.31%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd will be given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.52%. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 2nd. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio is presently 30.36%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $981.07, for a total value of $3,924,280.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 43,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,161,193.58. This represents a 8.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $931.00, for a total transaction of $3,351,600.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 41,077 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $38,242,687. The trade was a 8.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 9,600 shares of company stock worth $9,140,195. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on COST. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Loop Capital dropped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,045.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $935.00 to $995.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Cfra Research raised shares of Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, March 7th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,024.03.

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.

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