Clearbridge Investments LLC Sells 13,185 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Clearbridge Investments LLC lowered its position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 17.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 63,070 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 13,185 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $57,789,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 250.0% in the 4th 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. bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Collier Financial purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Barrett & Company Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 59.3% in the 4th quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 43 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Gary Millerchip sold 1,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 11,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,495,211.65. This represents a 8.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $922.56, for a total transaction 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 $6,445,926.72. This trade represents a 11.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 5,600 shares of company stock valued at $5,215,915 over the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on COST shares. Barclays upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, March 7th. Raymond James upped their price objective 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. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, DA Davidson raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,029.00.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of COST opened at $945.78 on Tuesday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52 week low of $697.27 and a 52 week high of $1,078.24. The company has a market capitalization of $419.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.54, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.82. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $988.13 and its 200-day moving average price is $947.08. 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 (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 analysts’ expectations of $63.02 billion. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current 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 0.49%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. 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.