Groupama Asset Managment Sells 1,007 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Groupama Asset Managment cut its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 9.7% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 9,355 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 1,007 shares during the quarter. Groupama Asset Managment’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $8,627,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 250.0% in the 4th quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 35 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Collier Financial bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Barrett & Company Inc. increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 59.3% in the 4th quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 43 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 16 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ:COST opened at $954.40 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $988.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $947.35. Costco Wholesale Co. has a one year low of $697.27 and a one year high of $1,078.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $423.45 billion, a PE ratio of 56.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.82.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.09 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $63.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $63.02 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 32.31% and a net margin of 2.93%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors 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 0.49%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $922.56, for a total transaction of $830,304.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,987 shares in the company, valued at $6,445,926.72. The trade was a 11.41 % 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 Gary Millerchip sold 1,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $940.01, for a total transaction of $1,034,011.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 11,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,495,211.65. This trade represents a 8.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 5,600 shares of company stock worth $5,215,915. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Loop Capital cut their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,135.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 7th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $935.00 to $995.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $1,075.00 target price (up previously from $980.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $840.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,029.00.

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.