Summitry LLC Sells 260 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Summitry LLC lessened its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 47.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 287 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 260 shares during the period. Summitry LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $263,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 250.0% in the 4th quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 35 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Collier Financial bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:COST opened at $930.26 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The company has a market capitalization of $412.74 billion, a PE ratio of 54.62, a P/E/G ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.82. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12-month low of $697.27 and a 12-month high of $1,078.24. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $987.84 and its 200-day simple moving average is $946.11.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.09 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $63.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $63.02 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 32.31%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.50%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 27.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,445,926.72. This trade represents a 11.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $38,242,687. This trade represents a 8.06 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on COST. Loop Capital dropped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,135.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,029.00.

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.