LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI Lowers Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI cut its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 48.3% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 612 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 572 shares during the period. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $561,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. Fairway Wealth LLC lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 230.0% in the 2nd quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 66 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 3rd quarter worth $58,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 329.4% in the third quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 73 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $65,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Finally, VitalStone Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the third quarter valued at $71,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 10,210 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,155,409.10. This trade represents a 16.38 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 1,416 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $894.68, for a total value of $1,266,866.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 27,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,514,232. This trade represents a 4.91 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

COST has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Loop Capital boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,005.00 to $1,095.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,019.00 to $1,020.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $935.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,090.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,013.59.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

COST stock traded up $11.53 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $938.90. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,413,409 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,724,087. The firm has a market capitalization of $416.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.02 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12 month low of $667.64 and a 12 month high of $1,008.25. The company has a 50 day moving average of $946.73 and a two-hundred day moving average of $897.99.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st were paid a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. Costco Wholesale’s 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.