Cim LLC Has $20.57 Million Stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Cim LLC lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 22,448 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 177 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale accounts for about 2.9% of Cim LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position. Cim LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $20,569,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Park Square Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth $1,338,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth $280,046,000. Brooklyn FI LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth $555,000. Fidelity D & D Bancorp Inc. boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 29.0% during the fourth quarter. Fidelity D & D Bancorp Inc. now owns 334 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $306,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. Finally, Brucke Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at about $446,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of COST stock opened at $1,008.50 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $975.30 and its 200 day simple moving average is $973.43. Costco Wholesale Co. has a one year low of $788.20 and a one year high of $1,078.24. The firm has a market cap of $447.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.22, a P/E/G ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 1.00. 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 (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.09 by ($0.07). Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 32.31%. The company had revenue of $63.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $63.02 billion. On average, analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were given a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 2nd. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.52%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 30.36%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Gary Millerchip sold 1,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $940.01, for a total transaction of $1,034,011.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,495,211.65. This trade represents a 8.97% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $981.07, for a total value of $3,924,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 43,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $43,161,193.58. The trade was a 8.33% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 9,600 shares of company stock worth $9,140,195 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Loop Capital cut their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,045.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Mizuho began coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, April 11th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $975.00 price objective on the stock. DA Davidson boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, March 7th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.