Tortoise Investment Management LLC Sells 37 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Tortoise Investment Management LLC decreased its position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 2.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,753 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 37 shares during the quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,157,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,628,694,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 61,693.5% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,105,124 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,049,630,000 after acquiring an additional 3,100,099 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3,647.1% during the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 567,641 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $374,688,000 after acquiring an additional 552,492 shares in the last quarter. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $297,915,000. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 175.5% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 553,972 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $365,628,000 after acquiring an additional 352,915 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the firm’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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,228,600. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

NASDAQ COST traded up $9.71 during trading on Friday, hitting $855.67. 1,395,485 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,735,517. The company has a market capitalization of $379.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.60 and a beta of 0.79. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $774.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $721.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12-month low of $516.54 and a 12-month high of $856.18.

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

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 26th were issued a $1.16 dividend. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 25th. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.54%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 28.75%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. Tigress Financial upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $745.00 to $870.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. 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 note on Friday, May 31st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $750.00 to $775.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $710.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $751.85.

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.