B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG Lowers Stock Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG lessened its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 13.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 49,237 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 7,524 shares during the quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $45,187,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. United Bank grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 7.5% during the 3rd quarter. United Bank now owns 5,962 shares of the retailer's stock worth $5,285,000 after purchasing an additional 416 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 182.1% in the third quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 409 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $363,000 after buying an additional 264 shares during the period. Maverick Capital Ltd. acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the third quarter worth approximately $244,000. Tradition Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Tradition Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,758 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $2,445,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 176.6% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 130 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $115,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, 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 value of $3,351,600.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 41,077 shares in the company, valued at $38,242,687. This represents a 8.06 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $922.56, for a total value of $830,304.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,987 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,445,926.72. This trade represents a 11.41 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 5,600 shares of company stock worth $5,215,915 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 1.3 %

NASDAQ COST traded up $12.26 on Thursday, hitting $977.34. 1,748,399 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,944,604. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12 month low of $697.27 and a 12 month high of $1,078.24. 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 cap of $433.63 billion, a PE ratio of 57.39, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.82. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $988.67 and a 200-day moving average of $947.48.

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

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were given a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is 27.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $1,100.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $935.00 to $995.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of 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. Raymond James boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $990.00 to $1,030.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Nine investment 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 a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average 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.