Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Sold by Guardian Capital LP

Guardian Capital LP reduced its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 3.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 50,624 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 1,571 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale makes up about 1.2% of Guardian Capital LP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. Guardian Capital LP's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $33,416,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Private Management Group Inc. increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 9.5% during the 3rd quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 913 shares of the retailer's stock worth $516,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Alaska Wealth Advisors raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 36.2% in the 3rd quarter. Alaska Wealth Advisors now owns 1,144 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $647,000 after purchasing an additional 304 shares in the last quarter. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3.4% during the third quarter. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. now owns 6,694 shares of the retailer's stock worth $3,782,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. IRON Financial LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the third quarter worth about $289,000. Finally, Community Bank & Trust Waco Texas increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 34.8% in the third quarter. Community Bank & Trust Waco Texas now owns 903 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $510,000 after buying an additional 233 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

COST has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Tigress Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $745.00 to $870.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. StockNews.com cut Costco Wholesale from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $665.00 to $749.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $680.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Roth Mkm raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $601.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $695.08.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of COST stock traded up $2.75 on Tuesday, hitting $777.90. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,327,411 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,010,771. The stock has a market capitalization of $345.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.88, a P/E/G ratio of 5.24 and a beta of 0.77. Costco Wholesale Co. has a fifty-two week low of $476.75 and a fifty-two week high of $789.48. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $733.30 and its 200-day moving average price is $682.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.43.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.62 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $58.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $59.11 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 28.80% and a net margin of 2.73%. The firm's revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.30 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.85 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 26th were given a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.60%. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 25th. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio is currently 30.35%.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $722.86, for a total transaction of $567,445.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 10,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,228,600. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $722.86, for a total transaction of $567,445.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $7,228,600. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $714.83, for a total value of $1,072,245.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,695 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,785,786.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 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.

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