Thornburg Investment Management Inc. Sells 1,027 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Thornburg Investment Management Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 8.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 11,737 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 1,027 shares during the period. Thornburg Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $10,754,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 7.0% in the fourth quarter. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,822 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,670,000 after buying an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Grassi Investment Management boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 6.5% during the 4th quarter. Grassi Investment Management now owns 5,155 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $4,723,000 after acquiring an additional 315 shares in the last quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel now owns 35,756 shares of the retailer's stock worth $32,762,000 after acquiring an additional 235 shares during the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 19,794 shares of the retailer's stock worth $18,137,000 after purchasing an additional 918 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cypress Wealth Services LLC increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Cypress Wealth Services LLC now owns 3,893 shares of the retailer's stock worth $3,567,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of Costco Wholesale 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 of the company's stock, valued at $6,445,926.72. The trade was a 11.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 43,994 shares of the company's stock, valued at $43,161,193.58. The trade was a 8.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 9,600 shares of company stock valued at $9,140,195. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Loop Capital reduced their price target on 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. Mizuho began coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, April 11th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $975.00 price target for the company. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $935.00 to $995.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price 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. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,024.03.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of COST opened at $1,025.83 on Friday. The business's fifty day moving average is $961.47 and its 200 day moving average is $967.73. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12-month low of $788.20 and a 12-month high of $1,078.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The stock has a market cap of $455.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 60.24, a P/E/G ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 1.00.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last released 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 business had revenue of $63.72 billion during 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%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.51%. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is 30.36%.

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.

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