Boussard & Gavaudan Investment Management LLP Sells 6,000 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Boussard & Gavaudan Investment Management LLP reduced its position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 17.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 29,000 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 6,000 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale comprises approximately 2.2% of Boussard & Gavaudan Investment Management LLP's holdings, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Boussard & Gavaudan Investment Management LLP's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $26,744,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 250.0% during the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 35 shares of the retailer's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Collier Financial acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Gary Millerchip sold 1,100 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $940.01, for a total transaction of $1,034,011.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,165 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,495,211.65. The trade was a 8.97 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $922.56, for a total transaction of $830,304.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly 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. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 5,600 shares of company stock worth $5,215,915. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

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Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of COST stock traded up $7.62 during trading on Monday, reaching $937.28. The company had a trading volume of 960,162 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,141,184. The company has a market capitalization of $415.86 billion, a PE ratio of 55.05, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.43. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $988.07 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $946.86. Costco Wholesale Co. has a one year low of $697.27 and a one year high of $1,078.23.

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 the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $63.02 billion. Sell-side analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

COST has been the topic of several research reports. Citigroup raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $1,060.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,145.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Loop Capital decreased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,135.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 7th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,035.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,029.00.

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.