Pullen Investment Management LLC Sells 41 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Pullen Investment Management LLC cut its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 2.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,934 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 41 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale makes up approximately 1.2% of Pullen Investment Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 25th biggest position. Pullen Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,772,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,201,610 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $38,668,069,000 after buying an additional 455,043 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,739,175 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $8,901,249,000 after buying an additional 252,118 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,457,824 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $8,665,921,000 after buying an additional 149,209 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at $5,182,316,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 12.6% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,257,809 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,817,573,000 after buying an additional 587,303 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on COST. Cfra Research upgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,035.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,024.03.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 0.9%

COST opened at $1,008.50 on Friday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $447.45 billion, a PE ratio of 59.22, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 1.00. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1-year low of $788.20 and a 1-year high of $1,078.24. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $973.21 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $972.57.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued 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 business had revenue of $63.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $63.02 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 32.31%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were paid a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 2nd. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.36%.

Insider Activity

In other news, 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 value of $1,034,011.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 11,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,495,211.65. This trade represents a 8.97% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of the firm’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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,987 shares in the company, valued at $6,445,926.72. This trade represents a 11.41% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 9,600 shares of company stock valued at $9,140,195. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by 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.