Berkeley Capital Partners LLC Sells 26 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Berkeley Capital Partners LLC lessened its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 3.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 811 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 26 shares during the quarter. Berkeley Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $744,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC raised its position in 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 acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Collier Financial bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.7 %

NASDAQ COST opened at $904.05 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.98. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $988.75 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $944.83. Costco Wholesale Co. has a one year low of $697.27 and a one year high of $1,078.24. The company has a market capitalization of $401.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.82.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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). The company had revenue of $63.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $63.02 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 32.31% and a net margin of 2.93%. Equities analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.51%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.09%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

COST has been the subject of several recent research reports. Raymond James boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $990.00 to $1,030.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. DA Davidson raised their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $1,060.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $1,100.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,030.43.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the 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 in the company, valued at approximately $38,242,687. This represents a 8.06 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.