Stifel Financial Corp Cuts Stock Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Stifel Financial Corp cut its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 0.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 737,494 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 1,133 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale accounts for about 0.7% of Stifel Financial Corp's portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Stifel Financial Corp owned about 0.17% of Costco Wholesale worth $675,891,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 250.0% during the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 35 shares of the retailer's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Collier Financial purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Barrett & Company Inc. raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 59.3% in the fourth quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 43 shares of the retailer's stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 16 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 41,077 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $38,242,687. This trade represents a 8.06 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,987 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,445,926.72. This trade represents a 11.41 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 9,600 shares of company stock valued at $9,140,195. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on COST. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, March 7th. DA Davidson boosted their price objective 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. Loop Capital decreased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,045.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,035.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,024.03.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 0.0 %

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 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 market capitalization of $432.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.28, a P/E/G ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.95. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $969.97 and a 200-day moving average price of $954.22. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1 year low of $714.41 and a 1 year high of $1,078.24.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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). The firm had revenue of $63.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $63.02 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 32.31%. On average, research analysts predict 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd will be issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 2nd. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.53%. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.