Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. Sells 10,091 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. trimmed its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 9.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 95,057 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 10,091 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale accounts for 1.7% of Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S.’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $59,413,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of COST. Richelieu Gestion SA acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 200.0% during the 4th quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 45 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Finally, Aspire Private Capital LLC raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 122.0% in the 3rd quarter. Aspire Private Capital LLC now owns 91 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Tigress Financial boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $745.00 to $870.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $610.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report 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 research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $810.00 to $820.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Loop Capital dropped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $830.00 to $820.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $695.08.

Insider Activity

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $722.86, for a total value of $567,445.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,228,600. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,695 shares in the company, valued at $4,785,786.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.8 %

Costco Wholesale stock traded up $6.03 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $793.07. The stock had a trading volume of 1,986,296 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,002,494. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $733.94 and a 200-day simple moving average of $684.70. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52 week low of $476.75 and a 52 week high of $804.56. The stock has a market cap of $351.73 billion, a PE ratio of 52.39, a PEG ratio of 5.16 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.43.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.62 by $0.09. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 28.80% and a net margin of 2.73%. The company had revenue of $58.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $59.11 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.30 EPS. Costco Wholesale’s revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 26th were given a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.59%. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 25th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.35%.

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.