NTV Asset Management LLC Has $3.25 Million Stock Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

NTV Asset Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 14.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 4,924 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 800 shares during the period. NTV Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $3,250,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of COST. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 61,693.5% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,105,124 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,049,630,000 after purchasing an additional 3,100,099 shares during the last quarter. C WorldWide Group Holding A S acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $390,630,000. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth approximately $297,915,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 18.3% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,088,673 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,180,016,000 after acquiring an additional 323,346 shares during the period. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 34.8% in the 3rd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,161,630 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $656,274,000 after acquiring an additional 300,000 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

COST stock traded up $11.46 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $743.90. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,323,300 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,605,560. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1 year low of $476.75 and a 1 year high of $787.08. The stock has a market cap of $329.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.65, a PEG ratio of 4.88 and a beta of 0.77. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $730.46 and its 200 day moving average price is $671.71. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28.

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

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors of record on Friday, April 26th will be paid a $1.16 dividend. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 25th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.62%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.35%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $795.00 to $805.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Roth Mkm increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $601.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $760.00 to $805.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $610.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $694.48.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the director now directly owns 12,395 shares in the company, valued at $8,967,534.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $722.86, for a total transaction of $567,445.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,228,600. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of the firm’s 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 directly owns 12,395 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,967,534.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 3,727 shares of company stock valued at $2,682,948. Company 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.