Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) is Guardian Investment Management’s 9th Largest Position

Guardian Investment Management reduced its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.9% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 5,370 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 50 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale makes up about 2.9% of Guardian Investment Management’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Guardian Investment Management’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $3,545,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of COST. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 118,320.2% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 7,396,524 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,376,513,000 after purchasing an additional 7,390,278 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth about $2,328,844,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 3,100,099 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 18.0% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 8,634,627 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,941,708,000 after purchasing an additional 1,315,174 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 172.6% during the 2nd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,357,548 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $730,877,000 after purchasing an additional 859,599 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock traded down $3.58 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $711.61. 1,091,204 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,087,606. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.43. The firm has a market cap of $315.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.85, a PEG ratio of 4.77 and a beta of 0.77. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52 week low of $476.75 and a 52 week high of $787.08. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $730.83 and a 200-day simple moving average of $659.23.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 28.80% and a net margin of 2.73%. Costco Wholesale’s revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.30 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors of record on Friday, April 26th will be given a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.65%. The ex-dividend date is 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 26.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The stock was 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 approximately $8,967,534.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Costco Wholesale news, Director W Craig Jelinek sold 8,000 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $685.93, for a total value of $5,487,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 216,212 shares in the company, valued at approximately $148,306,297.16. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $723.48, for a total value of $1,043,258.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 12,395 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,967,534.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 10,942 shares of company stock worth $7,602,943 in the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on COST. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $800.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Roth Mkm increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $601.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $665.00 to $749.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. StockNews.com lowered Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $760.00 to $805.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $691.28.

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.