Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co Sells 1,701 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co lessened its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 4.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 40,433 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 1,701 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale accounts for about 0.8% of Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co’s holdings, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $37,048,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in COST. WINTON GROUP Ltd boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 1,900.4% during the fourth quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 4,721 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,326,000 after purchasing an additional 4,485 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 8.4% in the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 762,208 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $698,647,000 after purchasing an additional 59,164 shares in the last quarter. Cottage Street Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 10.0% during the 4th quarter. Cottage Street Advisors LLC now owns 330 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $302,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the period. Tyler Stone Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Tyler Stone Wealth Management now owns 1,258 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,152,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Finally, United Super Pty Ltd in its capacity as Trustee for the Construction & Building Unions Superannuation Fund raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. United Super Pty Ltd in its capacity as Trustee for the Construction & Building Unions Superannuation Fund now owns 49,483 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $45,340,000 after acquiring an additional 2,100 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:COST opened at $929.75 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $412.51 billion, a PE ratio of 54.59, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.82. 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 Co. has a 1-year low of $697.27 and a 1-year high of $1,078.24. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $987.96 and a 200-day moving average price of $946.00.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced 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). Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 32.31%. The business had revenue of $63.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $63.02 billion. As a group, equities analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were given a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.09%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

COST has been the topic of several research reports. DA Davidson boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Loop Capital reduced their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,135.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 7th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,090.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,029.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $922.56, for a total transaction of $830,304.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,987 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,445,926.72. The trade was a 11.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were 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 owns 41,077 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $38,242,687. This trade represents a 8.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.