Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC Sells 119 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC trimmed its position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 7.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,392 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 119 shares during the quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,276,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 2.2 %

NASDAQ COST opened at $979.23 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $434.47 billion, a PE ratio of 57.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.95. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52 week low of $714.41 and a 52 week high of $1,078.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $971.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $954.07.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.09 by ($0.07). Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 32.31%. The business had revenue of $63.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $63.02 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $922.56, for a total value of $830,304.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,987 shares in the company, valued at $6,445,926.72. This trade represents a 11.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the company’s 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 owns 41,077 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,242,687. This represents a 8.06 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 9,600 shares of company stock valued at $9,140,195 in the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

COST has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Mizuho started coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, April 11th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $975.00 price objective on the stock. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Loop Capital reduced their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,045.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Ten research 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, Costco Wholesale has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,024.03.

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.