CWA Asset Management Group LLC Sells 392 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

CWA Asset Management Group LLC cut its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.0% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 37,287 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 392 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale accounts for approximately 1.7% of CWA Asset Management Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. CWA Asset Management Group LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $34,165,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in COST. Pensionfund Sabic increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 54.8% during the 4th quarter. Pensionfund Sabic now owns 4,800 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,398,000 after buying an additional 1,700 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 35.7% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 30,220 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $27,720,000 after acquiring an additional 7,944 shares during the last quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 15.4% in the fourth quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. now owns 11,913 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $10,916,000 after purchasing an additional 1,590 shares during the period. Modus Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 8.0% in the 4th quarter. Modus Advisors LLC now owns 1,777 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,629,000 after buying an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 15.0% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,662 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,020,000 after acquiring an additional 1,001 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on COST. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. DA Davidson increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $880.00 to $900.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,150.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $876.00 to $995.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $840.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,013.59.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 1,416 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $894.68, for a total transaction of $1,266,866.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,400 shares in the company, valued at $24,514,232. The trade was a 4.91 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $896.71, for a total value of $1,793,420.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,210 shares in the company, valued at $9,155,409.10. This trade represents a 16.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 7,816 shares of company stock worth $6,981,347. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.4 %

COST traded up $3.59 during trading on Monday, hitting $920.17. The company had a trading volume of 463,332 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,247,488. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1-year low of $654.03 and a 1-year high of $1,008.25. The company has a market cap of $408.46 billion, a PE ratio of 54.03, a P/E/G ratio of 6.02 and a beta of 0.84. The business has a 50-day moving average of $943.38 and a 200-day moving average of $896.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.44.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st were issued a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.25%.

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.