Gotham Asset Management LLC Has $9.73 Million Stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Gotham Asset Management LLC lowered its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 9.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 10,623 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 1,135 shares during the quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $9,734,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Focus Partners Wealth grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 93.2% in the fourth quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 229,125 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $209,940,000 after purchasing an additional 110,546 shares during the period. Full Sail Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. Full Sail Capital LLC now owns 643 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $589,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. Elefante Mark B purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at $640,000. Ethic Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 26.5% during the 4th quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 13,180 shares of the retailer's stock worth $12,076,000 after buying an additional 2,760 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ewing Morris & Co. Investment Partners Ltd. acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at $2,260,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Gary Millerchip sold 1,100 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $940.01, for a total value of $1,034,011.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 11,165 shares in the company, valued at $10,495,211.65. This represents a 8.97% 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 that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $931.00, for a total transaction of $3,351,600.00. Following the sale, 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 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 owned by corporate insiders.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ COST traded down $17.12 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $999.03. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,913,419 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,035,411. Costco Wholesale Co. has a one year low of $771.43 and a one year high of $1,078.24. The company has a market cap of $443.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $958.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $964.92. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.09 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $63.72 billion for 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%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on COST. Barclays raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Cfra Research upgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. Loop Capital dropped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,045.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. DA Davidson upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,035.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,024.03.

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.