Franklin Resources Inc. Lowers Stock Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Franklin Resources Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.1% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 987,137 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 1,243 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $904,484,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Cromwell Holdings LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 1,144 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,048,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. 44 Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. 44 Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,488 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,196,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the period. SRN Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. SRN Advisors LLC now owns 3,081 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,823,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the period. Miramar Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Miramar Capital LLC now owns 525 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $481,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clear Investment Research LLC increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 22.2% in the fourth quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 55 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Gary Millerchip sold 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $940.01, for a total value of $1,034,011.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,495,211.65. This represents a 8.97 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $922.56, for a total value of $830,304.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,987 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,445,926.72. The trade was a 11.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 5,600 shares of company stock valued at $5,215,915. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 1.0 %

COST stock opened at $929.66 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.43. The company has a 50-day moving average of $988.07 and a two-hundred day moving average of $946.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $412.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.82. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52-week low of $697.27 and a 52-week high of $1,078.24.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.09 by ($0.07). Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 32.31%. The business had revenue of $63.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $63.02 billion. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were given a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.50%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.09%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,090.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Loop Capital decreased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,135.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 7th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $1,060.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,035.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,029.00.

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.