Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. Has $17.94 Million Stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. trimmed its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 8.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 19,575 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 1,913 shares during the period. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $17,936,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in COST. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 250.0% during 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 last quarter. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Collier Financial acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Barrett & Company Inc. grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 59.3% during the fourth quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 43 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,100.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,035.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,024.03.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $981.07, for a total value of $3,924,280.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 43,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $43,161,193.58. This represents a 8.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of Costco Wholesale 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,987 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 have sold a total of 9,600 shares of company stock valued at $9,140,195 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 3.7 %

Costco Wholesale stock opened at $957.77 on Tuesday. 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 firm’s fifty day moving average price is $973.84 and its 200-day moving average price is $953.89. The stock has a market cap of $424.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.24, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.95. Costco Wholesale Co. has a fifty-two week low of $706.17 and a fifty-two week high of $1,078.24.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued 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). The firm had revenue of $63.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $63.02 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 32.31% and a net margin of 2.93%. Equities research analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd will be given a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.54%. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.36%.

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.