Prudential Financial Inc. Purchases 983 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Prudential Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 0.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 386,380 shares of the retailer's stock after buying an additional 983 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.09% of Costco Wholesale worth $354,028,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Cromwell Holdings LLC raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 1,144 shares of the retailer's stock worth $1,048,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. 44 Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. 44 Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,488 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $3,196,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. SRN Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. SRN Advisors LLC now owns 3,081 shares of the retailer's stock worth $2,823,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the period. Miramar Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Miramar Capital LLC now owns 525 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $481,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clear Investment Research LLC increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 22.2% in the fourth quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 55 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Gary Millerchip sold 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 trade represents a 8.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of Costco Wholesale 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 owns 41,077 shares in the company, valued at $38,242,687. This trade 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 worth $5,215,915. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on COST. Citigroup upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $1,060.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,090.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective 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. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,029.00.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of COST traded up $9.00 on Thursday, reaching $938.75. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,544,850 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,825,127. Costco Wholesale Co. has a twelve month low of $697.27 and a twelve month high of $1,078.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $416.51 billion, a PE ratio of 55.12, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.82. 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 $988.34 and a 200-day moving average of $945.95.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 EPS 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 company had revenue of $63.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $63.02 billion. Equities analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were given a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is currently 27.09%.

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.