Saxon Interests Inc. Sells 3,934 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Saxon Interests Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 87.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 551 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 3,934 shares during the period. Saxon Interests Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $364,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. United Bank grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 9.2% during the first quarter. United Bank now owns 5,254 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,026,000 after buying an additional 444 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 33.6% during the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 383,691 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $220,948,000 after buying an additional 96,566 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 87.1% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 232 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $134,000 after buying an additional 108 shares during the period. Bridgefront Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the first quarter valued at $333,000. Finally, Next Century Growth Investors LLC grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 0.9% during the first quarter. Next Century Growth Investors LLC now owns 3,414 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,965,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Loop Capital lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $710.00 to $755.00 in a research report on Friday, January 19th. DA Davidson lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $570.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 15th. Telsey Advisory Group lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $750.00 to $785.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $665.00 to $749.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $640.00 to $725.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 15th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $668.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Costco Wholesale news, VP Yoram Rubanenko sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $680.33, for a total transaction of $1,700,825.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 5,910 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,020,750.30. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Caton Frates sold 740 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $683.50, for a total transaction of $505,790.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,721 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,593,803.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Yoram Rubanenko sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $680.33, for a total transaction of $1,700,825.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 5,910 shares in the company, valued at $4,020,750.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 15,582 shares of company stock valued at $10,736,778 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Costco Wholesale stock traded up $0.55 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $732.63. 1,711,632 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,158,359. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $724.29 and its 200 day moving average is $642.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.93. The stock has a market cap of $324.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.90, a P/E/G ratio of 5.07 and a beta of 0.77. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52-week low of $476.75 and a 52-week high of $787.08.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.62 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $58.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $59.11 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.73% and a return on equity of 28.80%. The business’s revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.30 EPS. Analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 2nd were paid a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 1st. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.56%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.68%.

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.