LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. Sells 1,000 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. trimmed its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 33.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 2,000 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 1,000 shares during the quarter. LGT Fund Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,326,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of COST. Richelieu Gestion SA bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 200.0% in the fourth quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 45 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the period. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Steph & Co. raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 42.3% in the third quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 74 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth about $49,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $630.00 to $710.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $795.00 to $805.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Roth Mkm raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $601.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $665.00 to $749.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, Gordon Haskett lowered shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to an “accumulate” rating and set a $775.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $694.48.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ COST traded up $6.57 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $728.79. 406,440 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,020,137. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $730.38 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $670.09. The company has a market capitalization of $323.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.61, a P/E/G ratio of 4.81 and a beta of 0.77. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12 month low of $476.75 and a 12 month high of $787.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.43.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.62 by $0.09. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.73% and a return on equity of 28.80%. The business had revenue of $58.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $59.11 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.30 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.84 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.64%. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 25th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.35%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $722.86, for a total value of $567,445.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,228,600. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $722.86, for a total value of $567,445.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,228,600. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $714.83, for a total transaction of $1,072,245.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,695 shares in the company, valued at $4,785,786.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 3,727 shares of company stock worth $2,682,948 over the last ninety 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.