Mackenzie Financial Corp trimmed its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 4.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 172,259 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 7,510 shares during the quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $157,836,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in COST. Investment Management Corp VA ADV purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 250.0% during the 4th quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 35 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Collier Financial purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Barrett & Company Inc. grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 59.3% in the 4th quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 43 shares of the retailer's stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 16 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target 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. Mizuho initiated coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, April 11th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $975.00 target price for the company. Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,035.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,024.03.
Get Our Latest Report on Costco Wholesale
Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale
In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $981.07, for a total transaction of $3,924,280.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 43,994 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $43,161,193.58. The trade was a 8.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the firm's 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 41,077 shares in the company, valued at $38,242,687. This trade represents a 8.06% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 9,600 shares of company stock worth $9,140,195 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.
Costco Wholesale Trading Down 0.9%
Shares of NASDAQ:COST opened at $1,008.50 on Friday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52-week low of $788.20 and a 52-week high of $1,078.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $447.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.22, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.98. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $973.21 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $972.57.
Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $63.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $63.02 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 32.31% and a net margin of 2.93%. Analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.
Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.52%. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is presently 30.36%.
Costco Wholesale Profile
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Free Report)
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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