Janus Henderson Group PLC Reduces Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Janus Henderson Group PLC lessened its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 0.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 417,821 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 952 shares during the quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC owned 0.09% of Costco Wholesale worth $382,848,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. RMR Wealth Builders raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. RMR Wealth Builders now owns 4,786 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $4,386,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the period. Czech National Bank raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 6.4% in the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 96,068 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $88,024,000 after acquiring an additional 5,756 shares during the period. Aprio Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,593 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,459,000 after buying an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Matrix Trust Co boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Matrix Trust Co now owns 2,491 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $2,282,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on COST. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $1,100.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Monday, May 5th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $935.00 to $995.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,024.03.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 41,077 shares of the company's stock, valued at $38,242,687. This trade represents a 8.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 9,600 shares of company stock worth $9,140,195 in the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

COST traded down $17.12 on Tuesday, reaching $999.03. 2,913,419 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,035,411. Costco Wholesale Co. has a twelve month low of $771.43 and a twelve month high of $1,078.24. The stock has a market cap of $443.25 billion, a PE ratio of 58.66, a P/E/G ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.43. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $958.05 and its 200-day moving average price is $964.92.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 company 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%. Sell-side analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 2nd will be given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 2nd. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.