XTX Topco Ltd Trims Stock Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

XTX Topco Ltd decreased its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 77.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 245 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 821 shares during the quarter. XTX Topco Ltd’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $224,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth about $5,182,316,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 74,796.3% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,521,893 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,394,465,000 after acquiring an additional 1,519,861 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 100,422.3% during the 4th quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 796,137 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $729,476,000 after acquiring an additional 795,345 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,201,610 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $38,668,069,000 after purchasing an additional 455,043 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 55.7% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,068,772 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $979,284,000 after purchasing an additional 382,367 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ COST opened at $977.16 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $433.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.38, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.95. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $966.46 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $955.84. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1 year low of $715.32 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.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its quarterly 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 the consensus estimate of $63.02 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 32.31% and a net margin of 2.93%. Research analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd will be issued a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 2nd. This is a boost 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 0.53%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.36%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

COST has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. DA Davidson raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective 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. Barclays upped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, March 7th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,024.03.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $981.07, for a total value of $3,924,280.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 43,994 shares in the company, valued at $43,161,193.58. This represents a 8.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $922.56, for a total transaction of $830,304.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,987 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,445,926.72. This represents a 11.41 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 9,600 shares of company stock valued at $9,140,195 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.