Capital Analysts LLC Has $6.44 Million Stock Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Capital Analysts LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 4.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,031 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 362 shares during the quarter. Capital Analysts LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $6,443,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at $8,430,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 15.0% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,662 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $7,020,000 after purchasing an additional 1,001 shares during the last quarter. Dale Q Rice Investment Management Ltd bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth about $984,000. Stanich Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth about $214,000. Finally, Everence Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 15.4% during the 4th quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. now owns 11,913 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $10,916,000 after purchasing an additional 1,590 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 0.4 %

NASDAQ:COST traded down $4.39 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $987.31. The company had a trading volume of 638,299 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,027,395. The firm has a market cap of $438.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.97, a P/E/G ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.95. Costco Wholesale Co. has a fifty-two week low of $715.32 and a fifty-two week high of $1,078.24. The business's fifty day moving average is $963.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $957.14. 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 (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.09 by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $63.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $63.02 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 32.31% and a net margin of 2.93%. As a group, research analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.53%. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio is 30.36%.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $922.56, for a total transaction of $830,304.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,987 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,445,926.72. This trade represents a 11.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $981.07, for a total transaction of $3,924,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 43,994 shares in the company, valued at $43,161,193.58. This trade represents a 8.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 9,600 shares of company stock valued at $9,140,195. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Mizuho began coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, April 11th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $975.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Cfra Research raised Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,024.03.

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.