Two Sigma Advisers LP Decreases Stock Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Two Sigma Advisers LP lowered its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 17.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 270,100 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 55,200 shares during the quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP owned about 0.06% of Costco Wholesale worth $247,485,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Stanich Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at about $214,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,739,175 shares of the retailer's stock worth $8,901,249,000 after purchasing an additional 252,118 shares during the period. Brentview Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth approximately $4,522,000. Manuka Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth approximately $258,000. Finally, Flavin Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,494,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, March 7th. DA Davidson increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Loop Capital decreased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,045.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,024.03.

Insider Activity

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of the firm's 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 43,994 shares of the company's stock, valued at $43,161,193.58. This trade represents a 8.33% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly 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. Insiders sold 9,600 shares of company stock valued at $9,140,195 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 1.1%

NASDAQ:COST traded down $11.52 on Wednesday, hitting $1,025.30. The stock had a trading volume of 1,437,769 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,048,561. 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 has a market cap of $454.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 60.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 1.00. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1 year low of $788.20 and a 1 year high of $1,078.24. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $966.54 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $969.95.

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

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 2nd. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio is currently 30.36%.

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.