Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Position Reduced by Guardian Investment Management

Guardian Investment Management trimmed its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,370 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 50 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale makes up 2.9% of Guardian Investment Management’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. Guardian Investment Management’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $3,545,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of COST. United Bank lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 9.2% in the first quarter. United Bank now owns 5,254 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,026,000 after acquiring an additional 444 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 33.6% in the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 383,691 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $220,948,000 after acquiring an additional 96,566 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 87.1% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 232 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $134,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Bridgefront Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the first quarter valued at $333,000. Finally, Next Century Growth Investors LLC lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.9% in the first quarter. Next Century Growth Investors LLC now owns 3,414 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,965,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of COST stock traded down $3.58 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $711.61. The company had a trading volume of 1,091,204 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,087,606. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.93. Costco Wholesale Co. has a twelve month low of $476.75 and a twelve month high of $787.08. The company has a market capitalization of $315.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.77 and a beta of 0.77. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $730.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $659.23.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.62 by $0.09. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 28.80% and a net margin of 2.73%. The business had revenue of $58.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $59.11 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.30 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors of record on Friday, April 26th will be issued a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 25th. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.65%. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.68%.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In related news, Director W Craig Jelinek sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $685.93, for a total value of $5,487,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 216,212 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $148,306,297.16. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Director W Craig Jelinek sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $685.93, for a total value of $5,487,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 216,212 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $148,306,297.16. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $723.48, for a total value of $1,043,258.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 12,395 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,967,534.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 10,942 shares of company stock valued at $7,602,943. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Gordon Haskett downgraded Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to an “accumulate” rating and set a $775.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price 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. Tigress Financial upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $745.00 to $870.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $795.00 to $805.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Loop Capital dropped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $830.00 to $820.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $691.28.

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.