Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC Sells 139 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC cut its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,968 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 139 shares during the quarter. Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $10,966,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Glenview Trust co boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 8.5% in the fourth quarter. Glenview Trust co now owns 9,496 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $8,701,000 after purchasing an additional 744 shares during the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 10,137 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $9,288,000 after buying an additional 520 shares during the period. Greenwich Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 10.7% in the 4th quarter. Greenwich Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,197 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,097,000 after buying an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Centurion Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Centurion Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,766 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,618,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the period. Finally, Tumwater Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at $475,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $931.00, for a total transaction of $3,351,600.00. Following the sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on COST shares. DA Davidson raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $840.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Raymond James lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $990.00 to $1,030.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Cowen reissued a “buy” 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 price target of $1,030.43.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

NASDAQ COST opened at $903.92 on Friday. 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 50 day simple moving average of $989.80 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $944.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $401.25 billion, a PE ratio of 53.08, a P/E/G ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.81.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its 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). The business had revenue of $63.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $63.02 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 32.31%. On average, research analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

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

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.