Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. Trims Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. lessened its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 5.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 13,374 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 699 shares during the period. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $12,254,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Symmetry Partners LLC grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 194.6% in the fourth quarter. Symmetry Partners LLC now owns 1,090 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $999,000 after purchasing an additional 720 shares in the last quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 48,246 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $44,206,000 after acquiring an additional 2,763 shares in the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 84.0% in the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 191,377 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $175,353,000 after purchasing an additional 87,392 shares in the last quarter. First National Bank of Hutchinson boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. First National Bank of Hutchinson now owns 1,024 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $938,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sandy Spring Bank boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Sandy Spring Bank now owns 21,472 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $19,674,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:COST opened at $904.05 on Thursday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a one year low of $697.27 and a one year high of $1,078.24. The company has a 50 day moving average of $988.75 and a 200-day moving average of $944.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.43. The stock has a market cap of $401.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.09, a P/E/G ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.82.

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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $63.02 billion. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 27.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $931.00, for a total transaction of $3,351,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 41,077 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $38,242,687. This trade represents a 8.06 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

COST has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $1,060.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,090.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Barclays boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. DA Davidson boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,030.43.

Costco Wholesale 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.