New York Life Investment Management LLC Has $45.64 Million Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

New York Life Investment Management LLC cut its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 6.0% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 69,149 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 4,401 shares during the period. New York Life Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $45,644,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Richelieu Gestion SA purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 200.0% during the fourth quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 45 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the period. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Steph & Co. lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 42.3% in the 3rd quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 74 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the period. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $49,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

COST stock traded down $0.68 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $722.22. The stock had a trading volume of 1,607,393 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,040,271. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $730.40 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $669.72. Costco Wholesale Co. has a twelve month low of $476.75 and a twelve month high of $787.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $320.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.12, a PEG 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.62 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $58.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $59.11 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 28.80% and a net margin of 2.73%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.30 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $714.83, for a total transaction of $1,072,245.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,695 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,785,786.85. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $714.83, for a total value of $1,072,245.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,695 shares in the company, valued at $4,785,786.85. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director now owns 12,395 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,967,534.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 3,727 shares of company stock worth $2,682,948. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

COST has been the topic of a number of research reports. Tigress Financial raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $745.00 to $870.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $800.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $680.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $665.00 to $749.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $760.00 to $805.00 and gave the company 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 issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $694.48.

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.