CapWealth Advisors LLC Sells 235 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

CapWealth Advisors LLC cut its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.0% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 22,397 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 235 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale makes up about 1.8% of CapWealth Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest position. CapWealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $14,784,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of COST. Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 18.0% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 8,634,627 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,941,708,000 after buying an additional 1,315,174 shares during the period. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 118,320.2% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 7,396,524 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,376,513,000 after purchasing an additional 7,390,278 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 4.3% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,134,947 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,901,040,000 after purchasing an additional 210,586 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth $2,328,844,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 61,693.5% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,105,124 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,049,630,000 after purchasing an additional 3,100,099 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ COST traded up $0.03 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $715.22. 738,886 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,083,239. The firm has a market capitalization of $317.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.85, a PEG ratio of 4.77 and a beta of 0.77. Costco Wholesale Co. has a one year low of $476.75 and a one year high of $787.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.93. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $730.83 and a two-hundred day moving average of $659.23.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted 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. The company had revenue of $58.44 billion for 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%. Costco Wholesale’s revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.30 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors of record on Friday, April 26th will be issued a $1.16 dividend. This is an increase 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 dividend yield of 0.65%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.68%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on COST. StockNews.com cut shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Loop Capital cut 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. Tigress Financial raised their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $745.00 to $870.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $795.00 to $805.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $665.00 to $749.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $691.28.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, Director W Craig Jelinek sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $685.93, for a total value of $5,487,440.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 216,212 shares in the company, valued at $148,306,297.16. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $723.48, for a total transaction of $1,043,258.16. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 12,395 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,967,534.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director W Craig Jelinek sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $685.93, for a total transaction of $5,487,440.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 216,212 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $148,306,297.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 10,942 shares of company stock worth $7,602,943. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company 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.