Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Sold by Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust

Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust lowered its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 4.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 291 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 13 shares during the quarter. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $267,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 250.0% during the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 35 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Collier Financial purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Barrett & Company Inc. increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 59.3% during the 4th quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 43 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on COST shares. Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. DA Davidson increased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of 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. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,024.03.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:COST opened at $991.70 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $963.93 and a two-hundred day moving average of $957.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $440.00 billion, a PE ratio of 58.23, a P/E/G ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.43. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12 month low of $715.32 and a 12 month high of $1,078.24.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $63.02 billion. As a group, research analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 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 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 2nd will be given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.52%. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 2nd. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is 30.36%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The shares were 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 approximately $6,445,926.72. This represents a 11.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $931.00, for a total value of $3,351,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 41,077 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,242,687. This trade represents a 8.06 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 9,600 shares of company stock valued at $9,140,195 over the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.