Criterion Capital Advisors LLC Cuts Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Criterion Capital Advisors LLC lowered its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 2.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,904 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 85 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale accounts for about 1.4% of Criterion Capital Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $2,127,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 40,360,168 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $26,640,940,000 after buying an additional 485,051 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at $3,628,694,000. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,539,245 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,336,198,000 after acquiring an additional 132,292 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 61,693.5% in 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 2,794,480 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,844,581,000 after purchasing an additional 85,398 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of COST opened at $849.99 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $376.83 billion, a PE ratio of 52.66, a P/E/G ratio of 5.62 and a beta of 0.79. The company’s fifty day moving average is $801.95 and its 200 day moving average is $739.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.94. Costco Wholesale Co. has a fifty-two week low of $524.63 and a fifty-two week high of $873.96.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 30th. The retailer reported $3.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.70 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $58.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $58.16 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.83% and a return on equity of 30.02%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.43 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 26th were given a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 25th. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.55%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is 28.75%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the business’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 owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,228,600. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

COST has been the topic of a number of research reports. Roth Mkm reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $676.00 price objective (up previously from $650.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, May 31st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $750.00 to $775.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $860.00 to $890.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 20th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $905.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 6th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $777.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $756.85.

Costco Wholesale 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.