Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Cuts Stock Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA reduced its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 4.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 196,472 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 9,397 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $180,021,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. bought a new position in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Collier Financial purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Barrett & Company Inc. grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 59.3% in the 4th quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 43 shares of the retailer's stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 1.5 %

COST stock traded down $13.30 during trading on Monday, reaching $903.18. 2,264,180 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,959,479. The company has a market capitalization of $400.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.95. 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 50 day simple moving average of $988.70 and a 200 day simple moving average of $948.42. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12 month low of $702.00 and a 12 month high of $1,078.24.

Remove Ads

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.09 by ($0.07). Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 32.31% and a net margin of 2.93%. The business had revenue of $63.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $63.02 billion. On average, equities research analysts anticipate 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. Investors 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 0.51%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is 27.09%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Gary Millerchip sold 1,100 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $940.01, for a total value of $1,034,011.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,165 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,495,211.65. This represents a 8.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 business's 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 41,077 shares in the company, valued at $38,242,687. This represents a 8.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on COST. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,150.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. DA Davidson lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $935.00 to $995.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Raymond James boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $990.00 to $1,030.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,029.00.

Costco Wholesale Profile

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.