Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Sold by Bridgewater Associates LP

Bridgewater Associates LP trimmed its position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 52.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 80,394 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 88,497 shares during the quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $73,663,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of COST. Morse Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 20.1% in the third quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc now owns 7,481 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $6,632,000 after purchasing an additional 1,254 shares during the period. Anchor Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 2.0% during the third quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 7,996 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,088,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares during the last quarter. Fulcrum Equity Management raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 76.8% during the third quarter. Fulcrum Equity Management now owns 633 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $561,000 after acquiring an additional 275 shares during the period. Eaton Financial Holdings Company LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $216,000. Finally, Sculati Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 0.3% in the third quarter. Sculati Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,649 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,235,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Gary Millerchip sold 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $10,495,211.65. This trade represents a 8.97 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 5,600 shares of company stock valued at $5,215,915 over the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

NASDAQ COST opened at $979.32 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $434.51 billion, a PE ratio of 57.51, a P/E/G ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.95. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $981.61 and a 200 day simple moving average of $950.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.98. Costco Wholesale Co. has a twelve month low of $702.00 and a twelve month high of $1,078.24.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $63.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $63.02 billion. Research analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.09%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on COST. Barclays boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,035.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 20th. DA Davidson boosted 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. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,024.03.

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.