United Services Automobile Association Decreases Stock Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

United Services Automobile Association lessened its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,291 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 49 shares during the period. United Services Automobile Association’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $9,429,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the third quarter worth about $29,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 250.0% during the 4th quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 35 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Collier Financial purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $931.00, for a total transaction of $3,351,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 41,077 shares in the company, valued at $38,242,687. This trade represents a 8.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on COST shares. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Barclays raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,075.00 price target (up previously from $980.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,029.00.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 1.5 %

COST stock opened at $909.26 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $987.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $945.45. The stock has a market cap of $403.42 billion, a PE ratio of 53.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.82. Costco Wholesale Co. has a fifty-two week low of $697.27 and a fifty-two week high of $1,078.24.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.09 by ($0.07). Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 32.31%. The business had revenue of $63.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $63.02 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.51%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 27.09%.

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.