DoubleLine ETF Adviser LP Cuts Stock Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

DoubleLine ETF Adviser LP reduced its position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 22.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 10,599 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 3,071 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale makes up about 2.6% of DoubleLine ETF Adviser LP's holdings, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. DoubleLine ETF Adviser LP's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $9,712,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Pennington Partners & CO. LLC bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth $573,000. South Plains Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth about $477,000. Blue Rock Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at about $275,000. Cypress Advisory Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth about $1,301,000. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 13.4% in the fourth quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 3,483 shares of the retailer's stock worth $3,210,000 after purchasing an additional 411 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

COST has been the topic of several research reports. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Mizuho started coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, April 11th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $975.00 price objective on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research 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 company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,024.03.

Insider Activity

In other Costco Wholesale news, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $931.00, for a total value of $3,351,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 41,077 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $38,242,687. This represents a 8.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 17th. The stock was 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 trade represents a 8.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 9,600 shares of company stock worth $9,140,195. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Costco Wholesale stock traded up $9.26 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $1,008.30. The company had a trading volume of 1,547,172 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,033,356. The company has a 50 day moving average of $961.44 and a 200-day moving average of $959.44. The firm has a market cap of $447.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.21, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52 week low of $746.48 and a 52 week high of $1,078.24.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 32.31%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

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

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.