Signaturefd LLC Trims Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Signaturefd LLC lessened its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 12,300 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 119 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $11,270,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Cibc World Markets Corp increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp now owns 178,809 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $163,837,000 after buying an additional 12,722 shares during the period. Addison Capital Co lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Addison Capital Co now owns 1,114 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,021,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares during the period. IMG Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $234,000. First National Advisers LLC grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. First National Advisers LLC now owns 8,214 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,526,000 after purchasing an additional 279 shares during the period. Finally, GWN Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth about $2,037,000. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $931.00, for a total value of $3,351,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 41,077 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $38,242,687. This represents a 8.06 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

NASDAQ:COST opened at $903.92 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $401.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.08, a P/E/G ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $989.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $944.86. Costco Wholesale Co. has a fifty-two week low of $697.27 and a fifty-two week high of $1,078.24.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. Analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.51%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 27.09%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on COST shares. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Raymond James boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $990.00 to $1,030.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,000.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,030.43.

About Costco Wholesale

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.