Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. Trims Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. reduced its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 3.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 104,173 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 3,360 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale accounts for 1.1% of Cullen Frost Bankers Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $68,763,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in COST. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted 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 worth $2,049,630,000 after purchasing an additional 3,100,099 shares in the last quarter. C WorldWide Group Holding A S purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $390,630,000. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth approximately $297,915,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 18.3% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,088,673 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,180,016,000 after buying an additional 323,346 shares during the period. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 34.8% in 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 during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Loop Capital lowered their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $830.00 to $820.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $610.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Tigress Financial lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $745.00 to $870.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $795.00 to $805.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $694.48.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:COST traded up $14.86 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $771.31. 1,896,810 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,036,400. Costco Wholesale Co. has a twelve month low of $476.75 and a twelve month high of $787.08. 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 50 day moving average price of $731.22 and a 200-day moving average price of $675.97. The stock has a market cap of $342.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.45, a PEG ratio of 4.95 and a beta of 0.77.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.62 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $58.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.30 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.84 earnings per share for the current 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 paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 25th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.60%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.35%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction 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 owns 12,395 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,967,534.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of the firm’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 sale, the director now directly owns 12,395 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,967,534.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction of $567,445.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,228,600. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 3,727 shares of company stock worth $2,682,948. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.