Investment House LLC Has $43.88 Million Stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Investment House LLC cut its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 66,483 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 463 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale makes up 3.1% of Investment House LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest position. Investment House LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $43,884,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 61,693.5% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,105,124 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,049,630,000 after acquiring an additional 3,100,099 shares during the period. C WorldWide Group Holding A S purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the third quarter valued at about $390,630,000. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at about $297,915,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 18.3% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,088,673 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,180,016,000 after buying an additional 323,346 shares during the period. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 34.8% in the third quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,161,630 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $656,274,000 after purchasing an additional 300,000 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ COST traded down $6.44 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $722.74. The stock had a trading volume of 651,722 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,038,129. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $730.41 and a 200-day moving average of $667.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.93. The company has a market capitalization of $320.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.86 and a beta of 0.77. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12-month low of $476.75 and a 12-month high of $787.08.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.62 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $58.44 billion during 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 quarterly revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.30 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors of record on Friday, April 26th will be paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.64%. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 25th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.35%.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In related news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $723.48, for a total transaction of $1,043,258.16. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 12,395 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,967,534.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $722.86, for a total value of $567,445.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,228,600. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $723.48, for a total transaction of $1,043,258.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 12,395 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,967,534.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 3,727 shares of company stock valued at $2,682,948. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

COST has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Tigress Financial upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $745.00 to $870.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $680.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $630.00 to $710.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $610.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, Gordon Haskett downgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to an “accumulate” rating and set a $775.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $694.48.

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.