Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Sold by KFG Wealth Management LLC

KFG Wealth Management LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 4.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 872 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 42 shares during the period. KFG Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $576,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of COST. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position 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 valued at $3,376,513,000 after acquiring an additional 7,390,278 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,328,844,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position 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 during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its position 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its position 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 during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In related news, 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 transaction of $1,043,258.16. Following 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Costco Wholesale news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the director now owns 12,395 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,967,534.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $722.86, for a total transaction of $567,445.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,228,600. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 11,727 shares of company stock worth $8,170,388. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ COST traded down $1.74 during trading on Friday, hitting $709.51. 2,188,979 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,098,958. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $314.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.30, a P/E/G ratio of 4.76 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $730.57 and a 200-day moving average price of $659.59. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1 year low of $476.75 and a 1 year high of $787.08.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted 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. The business had revenue of $58.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $59.11 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.73% and a return on equity of 28.80%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.30 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.84 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors 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 is Thursday, April 25th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.65%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is presently 26.68%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on COST. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $795.00 to $805.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and set a $680.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $665.00 to $749.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $760.00 to $805.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, Tigress Financial lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $745.00 to $870.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.