Nexus Investment Management ULC Cuts Stock Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Nexus Investment Management ULC trimmed its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 7.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,184 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 100 shares during the quarter. Nexus Investment Management ULC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $867,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Richelieu Gestion SA purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 200.0% in the 4th quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 45 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Vima LLC purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on COST shares. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $700.00 to $765.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. StockNews.com upgraded Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, June 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Roth Mkm restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $676.00 price objective (up from $650.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Finally, Loop Capital boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $890.00 to $940.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 14th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $752.96.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 1.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ COST opened at $848.31 on Friday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12 month low of $519.34 and a 12 month high of $873.96. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $376.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.56, a PEG ratio of 5.70 and a beta of 0.79. The business has a 50-day moving average of $788.13 and a 200-day moving average of $730.83.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 30th. The retailer reported $3.78 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.70 by $0.08. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.02% and a net margin of 2.83%. The company had revenue of $58.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $58.16 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.43 earnings per share. Costco Wholesale’s revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 26th were paid a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 25th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.55%. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.75%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Costco Wholesale 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 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 legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 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.