Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH Sells 11,358 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH decreased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 66.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,674 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 11,358 shares during the quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $5,199,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in COST. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 250.0% in the 4th 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. acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Collier Financial bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Barrett & Company Inc. grew its stake 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 purchasing an additional 16 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $1,100.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,035.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Cfra Research upgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. DA Davidson upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Mizuho initiated coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, April 11th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $975.00 price objective on the stock. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,024.03.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $981.07, for a total transaction of $3,924,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 43,994 shares of the company's stock, valued at $43,161,193.58. The trade was a 8.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 41,077 shares in the company, 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. In the last three months, insiders have sold 9,600 shares of company stock worth $9,140,195. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

COST opened at $1,010.47 on Friday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a fifty-two week low of $787.83 and a fifty-two week high of $1,078.24. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $959.56 and a 200 day moving average of $966.17. 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 firm has a market cap of $448.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 59.33, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 1.00.

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 for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.09 by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $63.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $63.02 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 32.31% and a net margin of 2.93%. On average, 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd will be given a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 2nd. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.51%. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is 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.

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