Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. Sells 3,600 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. decreased its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 175,400 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 3,600 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale accounts for about 1.1% of Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V.’s holdings, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $149,088,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. GUNN & Co INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT INC. raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1,016.9% during the fourth quarter. GUNN & Co INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT INC. now owns 56,516 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $37,305,000 after buying an additional 51,456 shares during the last quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 13.7% in the 4th quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,768 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,167,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares during the period. Private Management Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 6.7% during the 4th quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 974 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $643,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Carret Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Carret Asset Management LLC now owns 4,059 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,679,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 1,294 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $854,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on COST. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $874.00 to $962.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $975.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $710.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Loop Capital boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $970.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Oppenheimer cut their price target on Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $925.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $824.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Costco Wholesale news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $876.50, for a total transaction of $543,430.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,775 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,320,787.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $874.05, for a total transaction of $437,025.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,900 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,015,745. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $876.50, for a total transaction of $543,430.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 11,775 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,320,787.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 4,970 shares of company stock valued at $4,249,526. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of COST traded up $1.65 on Friday, reaching $879.21. 1,305,753 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,967,249. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $851.23 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $788.53. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52-week low of $530.56 and a 52-week high of $896.67. The stock has a market cap of $389.78 billion, a PE ratio of 54.47, a PEG ratio of 5.84 and a beta of 0.78.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 30th. The retailer reported $3.78 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.70 by $0.08. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.02% and a net margin of 2.83%. The company had revenue of $58.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $58.16 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.43 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.98 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, August 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 26th were paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 26th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.53%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is currently 28.75%.

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.