Calamos Advisors LLC Sells 1,391 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Calamos Advisors LLC reduced its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 112,269 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 1,391 shares during the quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $74,107,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of COST. Richelieu Gestion SA bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 200.0% during the 4th quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 45 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Steph & Co. grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 42.3% in the third quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 74 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the period. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $49,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on COST. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $760.00 to $805.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Northcoast Research lowered shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $620.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, December 20th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $795.00 to $805.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Loop Capital cut their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $830.00 to $820.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $610.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $691.28.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 0.6 %

Costco Wholesale stock traded down $3.94 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $711.25. 1,582,144 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,094,678. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.93. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12 month low of $476.75 and a 12 month high of $787.08. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $730.83 and a two-hundred day moving average of $659.23. The company has a market cap of $315.44 billion, a PE ratio of 46.85, a P/E/G ratio of 4.77 and a beta of 0.77.

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

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 26th will be issued a $1.16 dividend. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.65%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 25th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.68%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director W Craig Jelinek sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $685.93, for a total value of $5,487,440.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 216,212 shares in the company, valued at approximately $148,306,297.16. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, Director W Craig Jelinek sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $685.93, for a total value of $5,487,440.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 216,212 shares in the company, valued at approximately $148,306,297.16. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,695 shares in the company, valued at $4,785,786.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 10,942 shares of company stock worth $7,602,943. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.