Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co Trims Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co lessened its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 4.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 40,433 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 1,701 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale makes up about 0.8% of Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co's portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $37,048,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of COST. United Bank increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 7.5% in the third quarter. United Bank now owns 5,962 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $5,285,000 after purchasing an additional 416 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 182.1% in the 3rd quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 409 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $363,000 after buying an additional 264 shares in the last quarter. NCP Inc. increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 25.8% in the 3rd quarter. NCP Inc. now owns 3,423 shares of the retailer's stock worth $3,034,000 after acquiring an additional 701 shares during the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 29,895 shares of the retailer's stock worth $26,503,000 after acquiring an additional 1,068 shares during the period. Finally, Insight Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 3rd quarter valued at about $337,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Costco Wholesale Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock traded down $9.09 on Friday, reaching $929.66. 2,099,737 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,941,143. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $988.07 and its 200-day moving average price is $946.54. The company has a market cap of $412.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.59, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.43.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last posted 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). 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 analyst estimates of $63.02 billion. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $922.56, for a total value of $830,304.00. Following 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Gary Millerchip sold 1,100 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction 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 $10,495,211.65. This represents a 8.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 5,600 shares of company stock valued at $5,215,915 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

COST has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,090.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Roth Mkm raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $755.00 to $907.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $840.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $1,100.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale 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.