Phoenix Financial Ltd. Decreases Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Phoenix Financial Ltd. decreased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 8.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,740 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 2,037 shares during the quarter. Phoenix Financial Ltd.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $20,836,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 250.0% in the 4th quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 35 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Collier Financial acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Barrett & Company Inc. boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 59.3% during the fourth quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 43 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on COST. Roth Mkm lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $755.00 to $907.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Raymond James boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $990.00 to $1,030.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,035.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,025.79.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of COST stock opened at $965.19 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.98. Costco Wholesale Co. has a fifty-two week low of $702.00 and a fifty-two week high of $1,078.24. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $984.89 and its 200-day simple moving average is $948.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $428.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.68, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.95.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.09 by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $63.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $63.02 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 32.31% and a net margin of 2.93%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were given a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.48%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 27.09%.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Gary Millerchip sold 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $940.01, for a total value of $1,034,011.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,165 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,495,211.65. This trade represents a 8.97 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $922.56, for a total value of $830,304.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,987 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,445,926.72. This trade represents a 11.41 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 5,600 shares of company stock worth $5,215,915 in the last 90 days. 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.