Ossiam Has $8.73 Million Stock Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Ossiam cut its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 83.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 9,531 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 47,435 shares during the quarter. Ossiam's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $8,733,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth $8,430,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 15.0% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,662 shares of the retailer's stock worth $7,020,000 after buying an additional 1,001 shares during the last quarter. Dale Q Rice Investment Management Ltd bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at about $984,000. Stanich Group LLC bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth about $214,000. Finally, Everence Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 15.4% during the fourth quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. now owns 11,913 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $10,916,000 after purchasing an additional 1,590 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $922.56, for a total transaction of $830,304.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Gary Millerchip sold 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 owns 11,165 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,495,211.65. The trade was a 8.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 9,600 shares of company stock valued at $9,140,195 over the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Mizuho started coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, April 11th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $975.00 price objective on the stock. Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Cfra Research raised Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Ten equities research 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 stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,024.03.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

COST stock traded down $5.91 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $973.32. 1,210,028 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,019,517. The company has a market capitalization of $431.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.15, a P/E/G ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.95. 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 50-day moving average of $971.89 and a two-hundred day moving average of $954.07. Costco Wholesale Co. has a twelve month low of $714.41 and a twelve month 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 analysts' consensus estimates of $4.09 by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $63.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $63.02 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 32.31%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd will be issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 2nd. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is 30.36%.

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.