American Century Companies Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

American Century Companies Inc. reduced its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 1.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,407,506 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 19,450 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale comprises approximately 0.7% of American Century Companies Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. American Century Companies Inc. owned approximately 0.32% of Costco Wholesale worth $1,289,656,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,487,057 shares of the retailer's stock worth $8,380,648,000 after acquiring an additional 162,191 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 3.6% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,308,615 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $8,252,274,000 after purchasing an additional 324,973 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 3,077,905 shares of the retailer's stock worth $2,820,193,000 after purchasing an additional 43,414 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,075,065 shares of the retailer's stock worth $2,726,107,000 after purchasing an additional 70,561 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,899,904 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $2,657,095,000 after purchasing an additional 91,649 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.

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Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:COST traded up $4.22 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $930.26. The stock had a trading volume of 1,621,482 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,823,339. The company has a market capitalization of $412.74 billion, a PE ratio of 54.62, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The firm's fifty day moving average is $987.58 and its 200 day moving average is $945.73. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12 month low of $697.27 and a 12 month high of $1,078.24.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.09 by ($0.07). Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 32.31% and a net margin of 2.93%. The firm had revenue of $63.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $63.02 billion. Analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is currently 27.09%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on COST shares. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $1,100.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Roth Mkm increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $755.00 to $907.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,035.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective 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. 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, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,029.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Costco Wholesale news, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $931.00, for a total value of $3,351,600.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 41,077 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $38,242,687. The trade was a 8.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

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.