Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Sold by HighPoint Advisor Group LLC

HighPoint Advisor Group LLC cut its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 7.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 18,349 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 1,388 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale accounts for approximately 0.9% of HighPoint Advisor Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 19th biggest position. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $16,813,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of COST. Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 250.0% in the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 35 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Collier Financial acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Barrett & Company Inc. boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 59.3% during the 4th quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 43 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on COST shares. DA Davidson raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Raymond James lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $990.00 to $1,030.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Citigroup upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $1,060.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,035.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Nine research 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, Costco Wholesale has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,029.00.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Costco Wholesale stock opened at $929.66 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.98. The company has a market cap of $412.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.59, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.82. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1 year low of $697.27 and a 1 year high of $1,078.24. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $988.07 and a 200 day moving average price of $946.86.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its earnings results 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 return on equity of 32.31% and a net margin of 2.93%. The firm had revenue of $63.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $63.02 billion. Sell-side analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

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

About Costco Wholesale

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.