Gabelli Funds LLC Sells 1,760 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Gabelli Funds LLC decreased its position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 2.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 77,005 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 1,760 shares during the quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $70,557,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in COST. Morse Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 20.1% during the 3rd quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc now owns 7,481 shares of the retailer's stock worth $6,632,000 after buying an additional 1,254 shares during the period. Anchor Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 2.0% during the third quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 7,996 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $7,088,000 after acquiring an additional 157 shares during the period. Fulcrum Equity Management grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 76.8% in the third quarter. Fulcrum Equity Management now owns 633 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $561,000 after purchasing an additional 275 shares during the last quarter. Eaton Financial Holdings Company LLC bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the third quarter worth about $216,000. Finally, Sculati Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Sculati Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,649 shares of the retailer's stock worth $3,235,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

COST has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Cfra Research raised Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,035.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $935.00 to $995.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Evercore ISI raised 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. Finally, DA Davidson upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,024.03.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 2.8 %

COST stock traded up $26.75 during trading on Friday, hitting $994.50. The company had a trading volume of 2,705,128 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,016,803. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12 month low of $702.00 and a 12 month high of $1,078.24. The stock has a market cap of $441.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.40, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.95. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $975.99 and a 200-day moving average price of $952.32.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 earnings per share 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. As a group, analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd will be paid a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 2nd. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.52%. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.09%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $931.00, for a total transaction of $3,351,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 41,077 shares of the company's stock, valued at $38,242,687. This trade represents a 8.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Gary Millerchip sold 1,100 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at $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 90 days, insiders sold 5,600 shares of company stock valued at $5,215,915. Company 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.