Thornburg Investment Management Inc. Trims Stock Position in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Thornburg Investment Management Inc. cut its holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 34.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,152 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 3,206 shares during the quarter. Thornburg Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $6,090,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of COST. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 12.3% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 19,825 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $18,165,000 after acquiring an additional 2,172 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 13.1% in the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,123 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,029,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Brio Consultants LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 1st quarter worth about $740,000. Picton Mahoney Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 1st quarter worth about $4,016,000. Finally, SLT Holdings LLC grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3.4% during the first quarter. SLT Holdings LLC now owns 520 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $492,000 after buying an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.9%

COST stock opened at $894.33 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $396.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.11, a PEG ratio of 5.54 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $925.31 and a 200-day simple moving average of $960.83. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 52 week low of $871.71 and a 52 week high of $1,078.23.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, September 25th. The retailer reported $5.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.81 by $0.06. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.09% and a net margin of 2.94%.The firm had revenue of $86.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $86.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $5.15 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 31st were paid a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 31st. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is currently 28.56%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on COST shares. Roth Capital set a $907.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $1,000.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Wolfe Research began coverage on Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, September 18th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Argus upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,170.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,225.00 to $1,130.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Eighteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,025.07.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In related news, insider Tiffany Marie Barbre sold 1,239 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $934.62, for a total transaction of $1,157,994.18. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 5,155 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,817,966.10. This represents a 19.38% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP William Richard Wilcox sold 2,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $930.13, for a total transaction of $2,232,312.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 2,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,860,260. The trade was a 54.55% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 9,720 shares of company stock worth $9,010,257 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

About Costco Wholesale

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.