First Manhattan CO. LLC. Sells 307 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

First Manhattan CO. LLC. cut its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 18,313 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 307 shares during the quarter. First Manhattan CO. LLC.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $16,780,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of COST. Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 250.0% in the 4th quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 35 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Collier Financial bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Barrett & Company Inc. lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 59.3% in the 4th quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 43 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 41,077 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $38,242,687. The trade was a 8.06 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $981.07, for a total transaction of $3,924,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 43,994 shares in the company, valued at $43,161,193.58. This represents a 8.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 9,600 shares of company stock valued at $9,140,195. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on COST. Barclays increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. DA Davidson increased their target price 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. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $935.00 to $995.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Loop Capital dropped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,045.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,024.03.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.1 %

COST stock opened at $1,008.70 on Friday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1-year low of $771.43 and a 1-year high of $1,078.24. The stock has a market cap of $447.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The company’s 50 day moving average is $958.68 and its 200 day moving average is $963.11.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.09 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $63.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $63.02 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 32.31% and a net margin of 2.93%. Sell-side analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 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 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd will be issued a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.52%. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 2nd. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is presently 30.36%.

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.