Kaizen Financial Strategies Sells 153 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Kaizen Financial Strategies reduced its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 14.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 912 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 153 shares during the quarter. Kaizen Financial Strategies’ holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $836,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 250.0% in the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 35 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. bought a new position in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Collier Financial purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Barrett & Company Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 59.3% in the 4th quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 43 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Gary Millerchip sold 1,100 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $940.01, for a total value of $1,034,011.00. Following the sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $981.07, for a total transaction of $3,924,280.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 43,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $43,161,193.58. This trade represents a 8.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 9,600 shares of company stock worth $9,140,195 over the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

COST opened at $1,008.70 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $447.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 59.23, a P/E/G ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.43. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $958.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $963.56. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1 year low of $771.43 and a 1 year high of $1,078.24.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $63.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $63.02 billion. Equities research analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd will be issued a $1.30 dividend. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 2nd. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.36%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

COST has been the subject of several analyst reports. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,100.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, March 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised 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. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Mizuho assumed coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, April 11th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $975.00 price objective for the company. Ten 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 stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,024.03.

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.