Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Sold by Everett Harris & Co. CA

Everett Harris & Co. CA reduced its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 869,676 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 4,261 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale accounts for about 8.4% of Everett Harris & Co. CA’s portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest holding. Everett Harris & Co. CA’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $637,151,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Richelieu Gestion SA acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC bought a new position in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 200.0% during the fourth quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 45 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $722.86, for a total transaction of $567,445.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,228,600. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Costco Wholesale stock opened at $863.40 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $382.77 billion, a PE ratio of 53.45, a P/E/G ratio of 5.70 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $812.88 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $745.22. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12-month low of $524.63 and a 12-month high of $873.96.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 30th. The retailer reported $3.78 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.70 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $58.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $58.16 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.02% and a net margin of 2.83%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.43 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 26th were paid a $1.16 dividend. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 25th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.54%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.75%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on COST. Gordon Haskett cut Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to an “accumulate” rating and set a $775.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Argus raised their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $805.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 28th. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $777.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $860.00 to $890.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 20th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $700.00 to $765.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $758.70.

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.