Clearbridge Investments LLC Sells 8,081 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Clearbridge Investments LLC reduced its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 5.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 139,470 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 8,081 shares during the quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $92,062,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Balentine LLC lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 18.3% in the fourth quarter. Balentine LLC now owns 8,398 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,543,000 after buying an additional 1,301 shares during the period. Associated Banc Corp lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Associated Banc Corp now owns 1,577 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,041,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the period. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 14.6% in the fourth quarter. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC now owns 12,517 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $8,262,000 after buying an additional 1,595 shares during the period. Blankinship & Foster LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $269,000. Finally, Schneider Downs Wealth Management Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Schneider Downs Wealth Management Advisors LP now owns 740 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $488,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on COST. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $800.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Monday, May 6th. Roth Mkm increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $601.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Loop Capital cut their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $830.00 to $820.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Tigress Financial increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $745.00 to $870.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $695.08.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 0.4 %

Costco Wholesale stock opened at $797.60 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $353.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.28 and a beta of 0.77. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1-year low of $476.75 and a 1-year high of $804.56. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $738.35 and a 200 day simple moving average of $692.35. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.62 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $58.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $59.11 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.73% and a return on equity of 28.80%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.30 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate 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 was paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 26th were given a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 25th. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.35%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $722.86, for a total value of $567,445.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,228,600. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $714.83, for a total transaction of $1,072,245.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,785,786.85. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $7,228,600. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.