Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Sold by Compass Capital Management Inc.

Compass Capital Management Inc. cut its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 12.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 343 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 47 shares during the quarter. Compass Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $226,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 61,693.5% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,105,124 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,049,630,000 after purchasing an additional 3,100,099 shares in the last quarter. C WorldWide Group Holding A S acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the third quarter worth $390,630,000. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth $297,915,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 18.3% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,088,673 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,180,016,000 after buying an additional 323,346 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 34.8% during the third quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,161,630 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $656,274,000 after buying an additional 300,000 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on COST shares. Roth Mkm boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $601.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $610.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Tigress Financial increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $745.00 to $870.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $800.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Loop Capital decreased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $830.00 to $820.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $694.48.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $714.83, for a total value of $1,072,245.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,785,786.85. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $714.83, for a total transaction of $1,072,245.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,785,786.85. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $723.48, for a total value of $1,043,258.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 12,395 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,967,534.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 3,727 shares of company stock valued at $2,682,948 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

NASDAQ:COST traded down $3.43 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $722.90. 1,731,688 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,045,450. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $730.46 and a 200-day simple moving average of $668.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $320.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.19, a P/E/G ratio of 4.86 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1 year low of $476.75 and a 1 year high of $787.08.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.62 by $0.09. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 28.80% and a net margin of 2.73%. The firm had revenue of $58.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $59.11 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.30 EPS. Costco Wholesale’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors of record on Friday, April 26th will be paid a $1.16 dividend. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 25th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.35%.

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.