Intech Investment Management LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Intech Investment Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 17.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 49,853 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 10,587 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale comprises about 1.4% of Intech Investment Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Intech Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $45,679,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the third quarter valued at $29,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 250.0% in the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 35 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Collier Financial acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In related news, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $931.00, for a total transaction of $3,351,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 41,077 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,242,687. The trade was a 8.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

COST has been the subject of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, March 7th. 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 note on Friday, March 7th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $1,100.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,075.00 target price (up previously from $980.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,030.43.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 1.4 %

NASDAQ:COST opened at $916.61 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $989.68 and its 200-day simple moving average is $945.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $406.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.82, 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. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12-month low of $697.27 and a 12-month high of $1,078.24.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.09 by ($0.07). Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 32.31% and a net margin of 2.93%. The firm had revenue of $63.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $63.02 billion. Equities research analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

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 dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.51%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is presently 27.09%.

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.