Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Sold by Pictet Asset Management Holding SA

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA reduced its position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.5% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 211,701 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 3,162 shares during the quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $193,975,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,201,610 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $38,668,069,000 after buying an additional 455,043 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 1.7% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,487,057 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $8,380,648,000 after acquiring an additional 162,191 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at $5,182,316,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 3,077,905 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,820,193,000 after purchasing an additional 43,414 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,899,904 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,657,095,000 after purchasing an additional 91,649 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

COST stock opened at $929.66 on Friday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52-week low of $697.27 and a 52-week high of $1,078.24. 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 company has a market capitalization of $412.47 billion, a PE ratio of 54.59, a P/E/G ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.82. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $988.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $946.18.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.09 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $63.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $63.02 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 32.31%. Analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share 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 issued a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The stock was 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 approximately $6,445,926.72. This represents a 11.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 owns 41,077 shares in the company, valued at $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. Insiders have sold 5,600 shares of company stock worth $5,215,915 over the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on COST shares. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $840.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Raymond James lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $990.00 to $1,030.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Nine equities 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.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,029.00.

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.