Armstrong Fleming & Moore Inc Reduces Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Armstrong Fleming & Moore Inc lowered its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 3,350 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 33 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale accounts for 1.7% of Armstrong Fleming & Moore Inc’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest position. Armstrong Fleming & Moore Inc’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $2,211,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 61,693.5% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,105,124 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,049,630,000 after buying an additional 3,100,099 shares during the period. C WorldWide Group Holding A S bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the third quarter valued at approximately $390,630,000. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth $297,915,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 18.3% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,088,673 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,180,016,000 after purchasing an additional 323,346 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 34.8% during the 3rd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,161,630 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $656,274,000 after buying an additional 300,000 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $680.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $795.00 to $805.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $665.00 to $749.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $630.00 to $710.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $760.00 to $805.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $694.48.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $722.86, for a total value of $567,445.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,228,600. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $722.86, for a total value of $567,445.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $7,228,600. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $723.48, for a total transaction of $1,043,258.16. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 12,395 shares in the company, valued at $8,967,534.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 3,727 shares of company stock valued at $2,682,948. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of COST traded down $0.68 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $722.22. 1,571,792 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,039,848. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12 month low of $476.75 and a 12 month high of $787.08. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $730.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is $669.72. The stock has a market cap of $320.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.12, a P/E/G ratio of 4.84 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.43.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.62 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $58.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $59.11 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.73% and a return on equity of 28.80%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.30 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors of record on Friday, April 26th will be given a dividend of $1.16 per share. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 25th. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.64%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.35%.

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.