Slow Capital Inc. Sells 81 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Slow Capital Inc. reduced its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.5% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 16,838 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 81 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale accounts for 1.9% of Slow Capital Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. Slow Capital Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $11,114,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Goodman Advisory Group LLC raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 336.4% during the fourth quarter. Goodman Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,929 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,273,000 after acquiring an additional 1,487 shares in the last quarter. Sfmg LLC raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Sfmg LLC now owns 3,483 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,299,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Phoenix Wealth Advisors raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Phoenix Wealth Advisors now owns 1,230 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $800,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. TRUE Private Wealth Advisors raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. TRUE Private Wealth Advisors now owns 8,007 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,286,000 after acquiring an additional 276 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Acute Investment Advisory LLC raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Acute Investment Advisory LLC now owns 515 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $340,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on COST. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $800.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Loop Capital decreased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $830.00 to $820.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $795.00 to $805.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Roth Mkm upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $601.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $665.00 to $749.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $691.28.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $723.48, for a total value of $1,043,258.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 12,395 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,967,534.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The shares were 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 owns 6,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,785,786.85. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $723.48, for a total transaction of $1,043,258.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 12,395 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,967,534.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 13,442 shares of company stock valued at $9,303,768. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

COST traded down $4.14 on Wednesday, hitting $711.83. 492,863 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,089,211. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12 month low of $476.75 and a 12 month high of $787.08. The business has a 50-day moving average of $730.92 and a two-hundred day moving average of $658.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $315.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.79, a PEG ratio of 4.78 and a beta of 0.77.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.62 by $0.09. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.73% and a return on equity of 28.80%. The business had revenue of $58.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $59.11 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.30 earnings per share. Costco Wholesale’s revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 26th will be issued a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 25th. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.65%. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is 26.68%.

About Costco Wholesale

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.