Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Sold by Stifel Financial Corp

Stifel Financial Corp reduced its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 737,494 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 1,133 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale makes up about 0.7% of Stifel Financial Corp’s holdings, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Stifel Financial Corp’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $675,891,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 250.0% during the 4th quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 35 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Collier Financial acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

NASDAQ COST opened at $994.50 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $441.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.40, a P/E/G ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.95. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1-year low of $706.17 and a 1-year high of $1,078.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.43. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $975.99 and a two-hundred day moving average of $953.37.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.09 by ($0.07). The business 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, analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd will be given a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 2nd. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.52%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is currently 27.09%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. DA Davidson increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Mizuho began coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, April 11th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $975.00 price target for the company. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, March 7th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Cfra Research raised Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,024.03.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of Costco Wholesale 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,987 shares in the company, valued at $6,445,926.72. This trade represents a 11.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Gary Millerchip sold 1,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $940.01, for a total transaction of $1,034,011.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 11,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,495,211.65. The trade was a 8.97 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 5,600 shares of company stock valued at $5,215,915 over the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Costco Wholesale Company 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.