Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. Sells 11,740 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. decreased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 2.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 416,439 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 11,740 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale makes up about 2.7% of Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.’s holdings, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $381,570,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in COST. Cromwell Holdings LLC grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 1,144 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,048,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. 44 Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. 44 Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,488 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,196,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. SRN Advisors LLC grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. SRN Advisors LLC now owns 3,081 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,823,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Miramar Capital LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Miramar Capital LLC now owns 525 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $481,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clear Investment Research LLC raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 22.2% during the fourth quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 55 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 in the company, valued at approximately $6,445,926.72. This trade represents a 11.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Gary Millerchip sold 1,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $940.01, for a total transaction of $1,034,011.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 11,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,495,211.65. This represents a 8.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 5,600 shares of company stock worth $5,215,915 over the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

COST has been the topic of several recent research reports. Roth Mkm increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $755.00 to $907.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $935.00 to $995.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,075.00 price objective (up previously from $980.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on 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. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,035.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,029.00.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of COST opened at $929.66 on Friday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a twelve month low of $697.27 and a twelve month high of $1,078.24. The company has a market capitalization of $412.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.82. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $988.07 and a 200 day moving average of $946.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23.

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

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is presently 27.09%.

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.