Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Holdings Decreased by Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P.

Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. decreased its position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 5.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,374 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 699 shares during the quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P.'s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $12,254,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Symmetry Partners LLC raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 194.6% in the 4th quarter. Symmetry Partners LLC now owns 1,090 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $999,000 after purchasing an additional 720 shares during the last quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 48,246 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $44,206,000 after acquiring an additional 2,763 shares during the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 84.0% during the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 191,377 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $175,353,000 after acquiring an additional 87,392 shares during the last quarter. First National Bank of Hutchinson increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. First National Bank of Hutchinson now owns 1,024 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $938,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sandy Spring Bank increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Sandy Spring Bank now owns 21,472 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $19,674,000 after acquiring an additional 176 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company's stock.

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Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of COST stock traded up $13.86 on Friday, hitting $909.26. 3,444,501 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,822,384. 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 company has a market capitalization of $403.42 billion, a PE ratio of 53.39, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.82. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1-year low of $697.27 and a 1-year high of $1,078.24. The company's fifty day moving average is $987.55 and its 200 day moving average is $945.45.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $63.02 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 32.31%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were given a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio is currently 27.09%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

COST has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $840.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,145.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,035.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,029.00.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate 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.