Summit Global Investments Sells 1,525 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Summit Global Investments trimmed its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 17.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,242 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 1,525 shares during the quarter. Summit Global Investments’ holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $6,636,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of COST. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC increased its stake 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 acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Collier Financial bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Costco Wholesale news, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 41,077 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,242,687. This trade represents a 8.06 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on COST. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $1,075.00 price objective (up from $980.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Nine investment 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.com, Costco Wholesale currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,029.00.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

COST opened at $909.26 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The company has a market cap of $403.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.39, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.82. The company’s 50 day moving average is $987.55 and its 200 day moving average is $944.60. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 earnings per share (EPS) 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 return on equity of 32.31% and a net margin of 2.93%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

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