State of Tennessee Department of Treasury Sells 6,916 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

State of Tennessee Department of Treasury lessened its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 4.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 155,467 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 6,916 shares during the period. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $142,450,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 250.0% in the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 35 shares of the retailer's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Collier Financial purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Barrett & Company Inc. lifted 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 buying an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 41,077 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $38,242,687. This represents a 8.06 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $981.07, for a total value of $3,924,280.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 43,994 shares in the company, valued at $43,161,193.58. This trade represents a 8.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 9,600 shares of company stock worth $9,140,195. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, March 7th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $935.00 to $995.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Cfra Research raised Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,024.03.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

COST stock traded down $0.36 during trading on Thursday, reaching $975.48. 2,465,409 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,028,110. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $969.97 and a 200-day simple moving average of $954.22. 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 company has a market capitalization of $432.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.95. 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 data on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.09 by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $63.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $63.02 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 32.31% and a net margin of 2.93%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

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

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.