The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Reduces Stock Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company cut its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 3.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 308,342 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 11,766 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned about 0.07% of Costco Wholesale worth $282,525,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Morse Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 20.1% during the third quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc now owns 7,481 shares of the retailer's stock worth $6,632,000 after buying an additional 1,254 shares during the period. Anchor Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 7,996 shares of the retailer's stock worth $7,088,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares during the period. Fulcrum Equity Management boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 76.8% during the 3rd quarter. Fulcrum Equity Management now owns 633 shares of the retailer's stock worth $561,000 after purchasing an additional 275 shares during the period. Eaton Financial Holdings Company LLC purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 3rd quarter worth about $216,000. Finally, Sculati Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 0.3% in the third quarter. Sculati Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,649 shares of the retailer's stock worth $3,235,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of the business'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 directly owns 6,987 shares in the company, valued at $6,445,926.72. The trade was a 11.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 41,077 shares in the company, valued at $38,242,687. This represents a 8.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 9,600 shares of company stock worth $9,140,195. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on COST. Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, March 7th. Cfra Research upgraded Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Robert W. Baird boosted 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 research note on Friday, March 7th. Loop Capital reduced their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,045.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,024.03.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.2 %

NASDAQ:COST opened at $977.16 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $433.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.38, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12 month low of $715.32 and a 12 month high of $1,078.24. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $966.46 and a 200-day simple moving average of $956.28.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last issued 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). Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 32.31% and a net margin of 2.93%. The firm had revenue of $63.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $63.02 billion. On average, equities research 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 given a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 2nd. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.53%. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.

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