Meitav Investment House Ltd. Decreases Stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Meitav Investment House Ltd. reduced its position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 41.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 74,854 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 53,453 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale accounts for about 1.1% of Meitav Investment House Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest position. Meitav Investment House Ltd.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $54,853,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in COST. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 1.0% during the third quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 28,855 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $16,302,000 after purchasing an additional 273 shares during the period. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 1,763 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,164,000 after buying an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 28.9% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 272,288 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $179,822,000 after buying an additional 61,122 shares during the last quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 15.6% in the fourth quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 21,514 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $14,201,000 after purchasing an additional 2,909 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zhang Financial LLC grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 3.8% in the first quarter. Zhang Financial LLC now owns 1,010 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $740,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

COST traded up $23.01 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $885.67. 2,620,714 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,559,025. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $816.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $746.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $392.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.70 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1-year low of $524.63 and a 1-year high of $886.94.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 30th. The retailer reported $3.78 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.70 by $0.08. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.02% and a net margin of 2.83%. The firm had revenue of $58.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $58.16 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.43 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors of record on Friday, April 26th were issued a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.52%. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 25th. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is presently 28.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $722.86, for a total value of $567,445.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,228,600. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on COST shares. Loop Capital upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $890.00 to $940.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 14th. Tigress Financial upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $870.00 to $975.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. TD Cowen upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $777.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. Gordon Haskett lowered Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to an “accumulate” rating and set a $775.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Roth Mkm reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $676.00 price objective (up previously from $650.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, May 31st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $758.70.

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.