Sovereign Financial Group Inc. Has $1.15 Million Stock Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Sovereign Financial Group Inc. trimmed its position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 6.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,736 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 125 shares during the period. Sovereign Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,146,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Richelieu Gestion SA acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 200.0% during the fourth quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 45 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Steph & Co. increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 42.3% during the third quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 74 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth approximately $49,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $714.83, for a total transaction of $1,072,245.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,785,786.85. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $714.83, for a total transaction of $1,072,245.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,695 shares in the company, valued at $4,785,786.85. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $723.48, for a total value of $1,043,258.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 12,395 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,967,534.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 3,727 shares of company stock worth $2,682,948. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

COST has been the subject of several research reports. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $795.00 to $805.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $630.00 to $710.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $665.00 to $749.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $760.00 to $805.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $800.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Monday. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $694.48.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock traded down $7.90 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $763.41. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,508,508 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,030,394. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52-week low of $476.75 and a 52-week high of $787.08. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $731.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $675.97. The company has a market cap of $338.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.32, a PEG ratio of 4.95 and a beta of 0.77.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.62 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $58.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $59.11 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 28.80% and a net margin of 2.73%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.30 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors of record on Friday, April 26th will be issued a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.61%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 25th. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is currently 30.35%.

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.