REAP Financial Group LLC Decreases Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

REAP Financial Group LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 4.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 481 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 22 shares during the period. REAP Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $441,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 35.6% during the 4th quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,871 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,212,000 after purchasing an additional 2,068 shares during the period. ABLE Financial Group LLC boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. ABLE Financial Group LLC now owns 4,144 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,797,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares during the period. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,462,000. XY Planning Network Inc. purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at about $338,000. Finally, HWG Holdings LP boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. HWG Holdings LP now owns 6,757 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $6,191,000 after buying an additional 328 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on COST shares. Mizuho started coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, April 11th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $975.00 price objective for the company. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Wednesday. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,035.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, DA Davidson upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,024.03.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of the 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,987 shares in the company, valued at $6,445,926.72. This trade represents a 11.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Gary Millerchip sold 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $940.01, for a total transaction of $1,034,011.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 11,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,495,211.65. This trade represents a 8.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 9,600 shares of company stock worth $9,140,195 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:COST opened at $1,008.50 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $973.21 and its two-hundred day moving average is $972.98. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52 week low of $788.20 and a 52 week high of $1,078.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $447.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 59.22, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 1.00. 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 announced 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 net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 32.31%. The firm had revenue of $63.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $63.02 billion. Analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were issued a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 2nd. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.52%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.36%.

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.