Sawgrass Asset Management LLC Has $19.27 Million Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Sawgrass Asset Management LLC decreased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 26.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 29,187 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 10,673 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale accounts for approximately 2.2% of Sawgrass Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest position. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $19,266,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in COST. Barlow Wealth Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $19,796,000. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,704,000. Sage Investment Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth $231,000. Simmons Bank raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 6.8% in the 4th quarter. Simmons Bank now owns 11,343 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,487,000 after acquiring an additional 721 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Peddock Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Peddock Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,840 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,215,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,695 shares in the company, valued at $4,785,786.85. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $722.86, for a total transaction of $567,445.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,228,600. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $4,785,786.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 3,727 shares of company stock valued at $2,682,948. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 1.0 %

COST stock traded down $7.90 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $763.41. The company had a trading volume of 1,511,411 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,030,519. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $731.22 and a 200 day simple moving average of $675.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.93. Costco Wholesale Co. has a fifty-two week low of $476.75 and a fifty-two week high of $787.08. The company has a market capitalization of $338.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.95 and a beta of 0.77.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.62 by $0.09. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.73% and a return on equity of 28.80%. The business had revenue of $58.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $59.11 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.30 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 26th will be paid a $1.16 dividend. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.61%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 25th. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is currently 30.35%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on COST. Roth Mkm increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $601.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Tigress Financial lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $745.00 to $870.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Loop Capital dropped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $830.00 to $820.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. StockNews.com cut shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $610.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $694.48.

Costco Wholesale Company 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.