Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Sold by Napa Wealth Management

Napa Wealth Management cut its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 69.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,208 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 2,736 shares during the quarter. Napa Wealth Management’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,107,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in COST. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 250.0% in the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 35 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Collier Financial purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Barrett & Company Inc. lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 59.3% in the fourth quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 43 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.8%

Costco Wholesale stock opened at $1,016.15 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $450.85 billion, a PE ratio of 59.67, a P/E/G ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 1.00. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $958.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $964.92. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52 week low of $771.43 and a 52 week high of $1,078.24. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.09 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $63.72 billion for 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%. Equities research analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share 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. 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 0.51%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 2nd. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.36%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $922.56, for a total transaction of $830,304.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,987 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,445,926.72. The trade was a 11.41% decrease in their position. 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 sale, the chief executive officer now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 9,600 shares of company stock worth $9,140,195 in the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on COST shares. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Cfra Research raised Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $1,100.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Monday, May 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.