Freedom Investment Management Inc. Sells 82 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Freedom Investment Management Inc. lowered its position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 4.6% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 1,700 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 82 shares during the period. Freedom Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,558,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at $8,430,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 15.0% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,662 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,020,000 after buying an additional 1,001 shares during the last quarter. Dale Q Rice Investment Management Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth about $984,000. Stanich Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth about $214,000. Finally, Everence Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 15.4% in the 4th quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. now owns 11,913 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $10,916,000 after acquiring an additional 1,590 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Gary Millerchip sold 1,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $940.01, for a total transaction of $1,034,011.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,165 shares in the company, valued at $10,495,211.65. The trade was a 8.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $922.56, for a total value of $830,304.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,987 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,445,926.72. This trade represents a 11.41 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 5,600 shares of company stock worth $5,215,915 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, March 7th. Truist Financial upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $935.00 to $995.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. 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. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, DA Davidson increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,024.03.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of COST stock opened at $994.50 on Friday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12 month low of $702.00 and a 12 month high of $1,078.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $441.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.40, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $975.99 and its 200 day moving average is $952.32.

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

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd will be issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 2nd. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is presently 27.09%.

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.