SVB Wealth LLC Sells 10,253 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

SVB Wealth LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 23.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 34,022 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 10,253 shares during the quarter. SVB Wealth LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $22,457,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Richelieu Gestion SA purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 200.0% in the fourth quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 45 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Steph & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 42.3% in the third quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 74 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $714.83, for a total transaction of $1,072,245.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,785,786.85. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $714.83, for a total transaction of $1,072,245.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,785,786.85. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $723.48, for a total value of $1,043,258.16. Following the transaction, the director now owns 12,395 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,967,534.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 13,442 shares of company stock valued at $9,303,768 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ COST traded up $2.23 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $720.51. The company had a trading volume of 345,175 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,096,248. Costco Wholesale Co. has a one year low of $476.75 and a one year high of $787.08. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $730.82 and its 200-day moving average price is $657.77. The stock has a market cap of $319.55 billion, a PE ratio of 47.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.87 and a beta of 0.77.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.62 by $0.09. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 28.80% and a net margin of 2.73%. The company had revenue of $58.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $59.11 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.30 EPS. Costco Wholesale’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 26th will be given a dividend of $1.16 per share. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 25th. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.64%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.68%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on COST. Roth Mkm raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $601.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. StockNews.com lowered Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $680.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $795.00 to $805.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $800.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $691.28.

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.