Doheny Asset Management CA Reduces Stock Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Doheny Asset Management CA trimmed its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 5.6% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,350 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 200 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale comprises 2.2% of Doheny Asset Management CA’s holdings, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Doheny Asset Management CA’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $2,211,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 47.7% during the 4th quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 293,481 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $193,721,000 after buying an additional 94,832 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 315,593 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $208,317,000 after buying an additional 6,975 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 386,527 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $255,139,000 after acquiring an additional 12,320 shares during the period. Summit Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 10.4% during the 4th quarter. Summit Asset Management LLC now owns 1,290 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $852,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 2,794,480 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,844,581,000 after acquiring an additional 85,398 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $723.48, for a total value of $1,043,258.16. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 12,395 shares in the company, valued at $8,967,534.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $722.86, for a total value of $567,445.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $7,228,600. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $723.48, for a total value of $1,043,258.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 12,395 shares in the company, valued at $8,967,534.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 3,727 shares of company stock worth $2,682,948 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on COST. Citigroup lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $630.00 to $710.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $795.00 to $805.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Loop Capital lowered their price target on Costco Wholesale from $830.00 to $820.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Roth Mkm lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $601.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $610.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $694.48.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

NASDAQ:COST traded up $9.30 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $731.52. 804,933 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,024,927. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52-week low of $476.75 and a 52-week high of $787.08. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $730.38 and its 200 day moving average price is $670.09. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The company has a market cap of $324.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.61, a P/E/G ratio of 4.81 and a beta of 0.77.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.62 by $0.09. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 28.80% and a net margin of 2.73%. The company had revenue of $58.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $59.11 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.30 EPS. Costco Wholesale’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 26th will be given a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 25th. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.63%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is 30.35%.

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.