Agur Provident & Training Funds Management Ltd. Lowers Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Agur Provident & Training Funds Management Ltd. lessened its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 30.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,815 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 2,585 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale comprises 2.0% of Agur Provident & Training Funds Management Ltd.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position. Agur Provident & Training Funds Management Ltd.'s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $5,328,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 in the company, valued at approximately $6,445,926.72. The trade was a 11.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Gary Millerchip sold 1,100 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was 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 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 5,600 shares of company stock valued at $5,215,915. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of COST stock traded down $9.09 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $929.66. The company had a trading volume of 2,099,737 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,941,143. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.98. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $988.07 and a 200-day moving average price of $946.54. Costco Wholesale Co. has a one year low of $697.27 and a one year high of $1,078.24. The firm has a market cap of $412.47 billion, a PE ratio of 54.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.82.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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). The firm had revenue of $63.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

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 dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is 27.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on COST. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price 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. Citigroup raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $1,060.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target 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.