Aspire Private Capital LLC Sells 50 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Aspire Private Capital LLC lessened its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 54.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 41 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 50 shares during the period. Aspire Private Capital LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $27,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Richelieu Gestion SA bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 200.0% during the fourth quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 45 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the period. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Steph & Co. raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 42.3% in the third quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 74 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the period. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth about $49,000. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on COST. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $800.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target 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. Gordon Haskett downgraded Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to an “accumulate” rating and set a $775.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $760.00 to $805.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $691.28.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $723.48, for a total transaction of $1,043,258.16. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 12,395 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,967,534.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $722.86, for a total transaction of $567,445.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $7,228,600. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $723.48, for a total transaction of $1,043,258.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 12,395 shares in the company, valued at $8,967,534.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 3,727 shares of company stock worth $2,682,948 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of COST traded up $6.74 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $722.20. 320,083 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,067,345. 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 1-year low of $476.75 and a 1-year high of $787.08. The stock has a market cap of $320.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.73 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a 50 day moving average of $730.16 and a 200-day moving average of $662.88.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $58.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $59.11 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.30 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 26th will be issued a dividend of $1.16 per share. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 25th. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.64%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.68%.

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.