Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Sold by Agur Provident & Training Funds Management Ltd.

Agur Provident & Training Funds Management Ltd. decreased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 30.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,815 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 2,585 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale comprises about 2.0% of Agur Provident & Training Funds Management Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Agur Provident & Training Funds Management Ltd.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $5,328,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Cromwell Holdings LLC grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 1,144 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,048,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. 44 Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. 44 Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,488 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,196,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the period. SRN Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. SRN Advisors LLC now owns 3,081 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,823,000 after buying an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Miramar Capital LLC increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Miramar Capital LLC now owns 525 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $481,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the period. Finally, Clear Investment Research LLC raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 22.2% during the 4th quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 55 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,100.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,035.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,029.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of the business’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 value of $830,304.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,987 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,445,926.72. The trade was a 11.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Gary Millerchip sold 1,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $940.01, for a total transaction of $1,034,011.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,165 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,495,211.65. The trade was a 8.97 % decrease in their position. 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 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 1.0 %

NASDAQ:COST opened at $938.75 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $988.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $945.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.43. The stock has a market cap of $416.51 billion, a PE ratio of 55.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.82. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.09 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $63.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $63.02 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 32.31%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast 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 given 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 yield of 0.49%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 27.09%.

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.