Bell Asset Management Ltd Sells 37 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Bell Asset Management Ltd reduced its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,723 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 37 shares during the quarter. Bell Asset Management Ltd’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $3,411,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in COST. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at about $8,430,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 15.0% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,662 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,020,000 after acquiring an additional 1,001 shares in the last quarter. Dale Q Rice Investment Management Ltd purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth approximately $984,000. Stanich Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at $214,000. Finally, Everence Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 15.4% in the fourth quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. now owns 11,913 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $10,916,000 after purchasing an additional 1,590 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on COST shares. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Nine research 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 has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,029.00.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:COST opened at $916.48 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $406.63 billion, a PE ratio of 53.82, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.95. 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 Co. has a 1-year low of $702.00 and a 1-year high of $1,078.24. The business’s 50 day moving average is $988.70 and its 200-day moving average is $948.42.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.09 by ($0.07). The business had revenue of $63.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $63.02 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 32.31% and a net margin of 2.93%. Sell-side analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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 of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.51%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.09%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on 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 directly 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Gary Millerchip sold 1,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $940.01, for a total value of $1,034,011.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,495,211.65. This represents a 8.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 5,600 shares of company stock valued at $5,215,915 in the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.