Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. Lowers Stock Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S. trimmed its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 18.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 51,706 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 12,019 shares during the quarter. Lazard Freres Gestion S.A.S.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $45,838,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of COST. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 113,947.9% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 7,370,916 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $6,534,464,000 after buying an additional 7,364,453 shares during the last quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 99,208.6% in the second quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 1,474,733 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,253,508,000 after acquiring an additional 1,473,248 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 287.3% in the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 836,247 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $710,802,000 after acquiring an additional 620,341 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 51,747.5% during the second quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 619,578 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,266,000 after acquiring an additional 618,383 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 1st quarter worth about $285,618,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

NASDAQ:COST traded down $3.12 on Tuesday, reaching $960.89. 3,240,929 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,934,416. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $902.24 and a 200-day simple moving average of $867.47. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12 month low of $582.83 and a 12 month high of $976.30. The firm has a market cap of $425.75 billion, a PE ratio of 57.99, a P/E/G ratio of 5.95 and a beta of 0.80. 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 (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.05 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $79.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $79.91 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 31.05% and a net margin of 2.90%. The firm’s revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $4.86 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st were issued a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.48%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on COST. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $880.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Barclays increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $830.00 to $850.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $975.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $850.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $908.81.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 4,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $891.15, for a total value of $3,921,060.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,202 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,091,512.30. The trade was a 30.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 3,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $888.99, for a total transaction of $2,844,768.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 8,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,671,983.70. This trade represents a 27.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 11,016 shares of company stock worth $9,826,115 in the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Costco Wholesale

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.