Ardevora Asset Management LLP lessened its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST – Free Report) by 53.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 25,796 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 29,623 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale accounts for approximately 1.5% of Ardevora Asset Management LLP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. Ardevora Asset Management LLP’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $17,027,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 118,320.2% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 7,396,524 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,376,513,000 after buying an additional 7,390,278 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,328,844,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 valued at $2,049,630,000 after buying an additional 3,100,099 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 18.0% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 8,634,627 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,941,708,000 after buying an additional 1,315,174 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 172.6% in the second quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,357,548 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $730,877,000 after buying an additional 859,599 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.
Insider Activity
In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $722.86, for a total transaction of $567,445.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,228,600. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $714.83, for a total value of $1,072,245.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,695 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,785,786.85. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $722.86, for a total value of $567,445.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,228,600. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 11,727 shares of company stock valued at $8,170,388 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
A number of analysts recently weighed in on the company. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $800.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. StockNews.com downgraded Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Tigress Financial lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $745.00 to $870.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $610.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, Gordon Haskett downgraded Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to an “accumulate” rating and set a $775.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $691.28.
Costco Wholesale Trading Down 0.2 %
Shares of NASDAQ:COST traded down $1.74 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $709.51. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,190,356 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,668,139. The firm has a market cap of $314.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.73 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1 year low of $476.75 and a 1 year high of $787.08. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $730.29 and a 200 day moving average price of $661.22.
Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.62 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $58.44 billion during 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%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.30 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.84 EPS for the current year.
Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 26th will be given a $1.16 dividend. 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%. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is currently 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.