SVB Wealth LLC Reduces Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

SVB Wealth LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 23.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 34,022 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 10,253 shares during the quarter. SVB Wealth LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $22,457,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in COST. United Bank increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 9.2% during the 1st 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. increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 33.6% during the 1st 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 increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 87.1% during the 1st 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 position in Costco Wholesale during the 1st quarter valued at about $333,000. Finally, Next Century Growth Investors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Next Century Growth Investors LLC now owns 3,414 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,965,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on COST. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $665.00 to $749.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $680.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Gordon Haskett cut shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to an “accumulate” rating and set a $775.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $693.00 to $741.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 21st. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $760.00 to $805.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $691.28.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Costco Wholesale stock traded up $2.23 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $720.51. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 345,175 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,096,248. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $730.82 and its 200-day moving average price is $657.77. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12 month low of $476.75 and a 12 month high of $787.08. The company has a market capitalization of $319.55 billion, a PE ratio of 47.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.87 and a beta of 0.77.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.62 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $58.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $59.11 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.73% and a return on equity of 28.80%. Costco Wholesale’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.30 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 26th will be issued a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 25th. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is presently 26.68%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Costco Wholesale news, Director W Craig Jelinek sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $685.93, for a total transaction of $5,487,440.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 216,212 shares in the company, valued at approximately $148,306,297.16. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, Director W Craig Jelinek sold 8,000 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the director now owns 216,212 shares in the company, valued at approximately $148,306,297.16. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Yoram Rubanenko sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $680.33, for a total value of $1,700,825.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 5,910 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,020,750.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 13,442 shares of company stock worth $9,303,768. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.