Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Sold by Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc.

Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 2.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,846 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 214 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale makes up approximately 0.7% of Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 27th biggest position. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $7,189,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 250.0% in the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 35 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Collier Financial acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Barrett & Company Inc. boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 59.3% in 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Gary Millerchip sold 1,100 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,495,211.65. The trade was a 8.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 5,600 shares of company stock worth $5,215,915. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

COST has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, March 7th. DA Davidson increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,150.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,035.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Nine equities research 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 a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,029.00.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 1.0 %

Costco Wholesale stock opened at $929.66 on Friday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52 week low of $697.27 and a 52 week high of $1,078.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $412.47 billion, a PE ratio of 54.59, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.82. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $988.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $946.18.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued 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 return on equity of 32.31% and a net margin of 2.93%. The business had revenue of $63.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $63.02 billion. Equities research analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were given a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.09%.

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.