USS Investment Management Ltd Sells 764 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

USS Investment Management Ltd trimmed its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 0.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 82,949 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 764 shares during the period. USS Investment Management Ltd's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $76,020,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 250.0% during the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 35 shares of the retailer's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Collier Financial acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Barrett & Company Inc. increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 59.3% during the fourth quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 43 shares of the retailer's stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Loop Capital decreased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,045.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Mizuho started coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, April 11th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $975.00 target price on the stock. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,024.03.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of COST stock traded down $7.17 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $1,018.13. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,658,711 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,050,796. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $968.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is $970.34. The company has a market capitalization of $451.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.78, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 1.00. Costco Wholesale Co. has a fifty-two week low of $788.20 and a fifty-two week 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.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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 analyst estimates of $63.02 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 32.31%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 43,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,161,193.58. This represents a 8.33% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were 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 owns 41,077 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 9,600 shares of company stock valued at $9,140,195. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.