Bragg Financial Advisors Inc Sells 703 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Bragg Financial Advisors Inc cut its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 3.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,849 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 703 shares during the quarter. Bragg Financial Advisors Inc’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $18,187,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased 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 worth $38,668,069,000 after acquiring an additional 455,043 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,739,175 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $8,901,249,000 after purchasing an additional 252,118 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,457,824 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $8,665,921,000 after purchasing an additional 149,209 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $5,182,316,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,715,685 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,404,571,000 after purchasing an additional 43,266 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. DA Davidson lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Cfra Research raised shares of Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Mizuho began coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday. They set a “neutral” rating and a $975.00 price target for the company. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,024.03.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

COST stock opened at $963.41 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.98. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $982.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $949.47. Costco Wholesale Co. has a one year low of $702.00 and a one year high of $1,078.24. The company has a market capitalization of $427.45 billion, a PE ratio of 56.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.95.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.09 by ($0.07). Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 32.31%. The company had revenue of $63.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $63.02 billion. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 27.09%.

Insider Activity

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Gary Millerchip sold 1,100 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 11,165 shares in the company, valued at $10,495,211.65. This trade represents a 8.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $922.56, for a total transaction of $830,304.00. Following the completion of 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 5,600 shares of company stock worth $5,215,915. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.