Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Sold by Two Sigma Securities LLC

Two Sigma Securities LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 72.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,382 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 3,658 shares during the period. Two Sigma Securities LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,266,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth approximately $8,430,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 15.0% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,662 shares of the retailer's stock worth $7,020,000 after buying an additional 1,001 shares during the period. Dale Q Rice Investment Management Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at about $984,000. Stanich Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $214,000. Finally, Everence Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 15.4% in the 4th quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. now owns 11,913 shares of the retailer's stock worth $10,916,000 after acquiring an additional 1,590 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

COST has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. DA Davidson increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Cfra Research raised Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and set a $1,100.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Monday. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $935.00 to $995.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,024.03.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 41,077 shares in the company, valued at $38,242,687. This trade represents a 8.06 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 43,994 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $43,161,193.58. This represents a 8.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 9,600 shares of company stock worth $9,140,195. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of COST stock traded up $8.59 on Tuesday, hitting $987.13. The stock had a trading volume of 817,504 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,324,692. Costco Wholesale Co. has a one year low of $715.32 and a one year high of $1,078.23. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $964.78 and a 200 day moving average price of $956.90. The company has a market cap of $437.97 billion, a PE ratio of 57.96, a P/E/G ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.95. 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 released its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $63.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $63.02 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 32.31%. Research analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd will be issued a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 2nd. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.53%. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is currently 30.36%.

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.