Commerce Bank Lowers Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Commerce Bank lessened its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 117,591 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 718 shares during the period. Commerce Bank’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $77,619,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in COST. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth $3,628,694,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,134,947 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,901,040,000 after buying an additional 210,586 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 61,693.5% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,105,124 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,049,630,000 after buying an additional 3,100,099 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 2,794,480 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,844,581,000 after acquiring an additional 85,398 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.9% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,689,514 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,519,468,000 after acquiring an additional 24,274 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 0.5 %

NASDAQ COST traded down $3.93 during trading on Thursday, reaching $797.93. 917,588 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,967,454. 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 $808.05. The stock has a market cap of $353.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.33 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $739.71 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $693.12.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.62 by $0.09. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.73% and a return on equity of 28.80%. The firm had revenue of $58.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $59.11 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.30 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors of record on Friday, April 26th were given a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 25th. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.58%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is 30.35%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on COST shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped 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. StockNews.com upgraded Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $810.00 to $820.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 14th. Tigress Financial lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $745.00 to $870.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Finally, Gordon Haskett cut shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to an “accumulate” rating and set a $775.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $696.88.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,228,600. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of Costco Wholesale 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,228,600. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,695 shares in the company, valued at $4,785,786.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.