Philadelphia Trust Co. Lowers Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Philadelphia Trust Co. lowered its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 46.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 974 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 834 shares during the quarter. Philadelphia Trust Co.'s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $892,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at about $5,182,316,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 74,796.3% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,521,893 shares of the retailer's stock worth $1,394,465,000 after acquiring an additional 1,519,861 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 100,422.3% during the 4th quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 796,137 shares of the retailer's stock worth $729,476,000 after acquiring an additional 795,345 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,201,610 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $38,668,069,000 after purchasing an additional 455,043 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 55.7% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,068,772 shares of the retailer's stock worth $979,284,000 after purchasing an additional 382,367 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company's stock.

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Costco Wholesale Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of COST traded up $15.91 on Monday, reaching $979.32. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,218,559 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,006,426. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $982.89 and a 200-day moving average of $949.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $434.51 billion, a PE ratio of 57.51, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.95. Costco Wholesale Co. has a twelve month low of $702.00 and a twelve month high of $1,078.24.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last announced its 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 net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 32.31%. The firm had revenue of $63.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $63.02 billion. Equities analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were given a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.47%. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio is currently 27.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $931.00, for a total value of $3,351,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 41,077 shares in the company, valued at $38,242,687. The trade was a 8.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,165 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,495,211.65. This trade 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 worth $5,215,915 in the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on COST shares. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $1,060.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,024.03.

Costco Wholesale Company 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.