Jump Financial LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 46.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,868 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 4,154 shares during the period. Jump Financial LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $4,460,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of COST. Cromwell Holdings LLC raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 1,144 shares of the retailer's stock worth $1,048,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the period. 44 Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. 44 Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,488 shares of the retailer's stock worth $3,196,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the period. SRN Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. SRN Advisors LLC now owns 3,081 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $2,823,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the period. Miramar Capital LLC increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Miramar Capital LLC now owns 525 shares of the retailer's stock worth $481,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clear Investment Research LLC lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 22.2% in the fourth quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 55 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
COST has been the topic of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Mizuho initiated coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, April 11th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $975.00 price objective on the stock. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $1,100.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,024.03.
Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on COST
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $922.56, for a total value of $830,304.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,987 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,445,926.72. This trade represents a 11.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 41,077 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,242,687. This trade represents a 8.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 5,600 shares of company stock worth $5,215,915. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.
Costco Wholesale Stock Up 2.8 %
Shares of COST traded up $26.75 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $994.50. 2,705,128 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,016,803. 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 company has a market cap of $441.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.40, a P/E/G ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.95. The stock's 50-day moving average is $975.99 and its 200-day moving average is $952.32. Costco Wholesale Co. has a fifty-two week low of $702.00 and a fifty-two week high of $1,078.24.
Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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). The company had revenue of $63.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $63.02 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 32.31%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd will be paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.52%. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 2nd. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio is 27.09%.
Costco Wholesale Profile
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Free Report)
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.
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