Bahl & Gaynor Inc. Has $4.76 Million Stock Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. decreased its position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,214 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 45 shares during the period. Bahl & Gaynor Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $4,762,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,134,947 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,901,040,000 after acquiring an additional 210,586 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 61,693.5% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,105,124 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,049,630,000 after buying an additional 3,100,099 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,689,514 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,519,468,000 after buying an additional 24,274 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,580,649 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,457,964,000 after buying an additional 28,259 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 18.3% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,088,673 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,180,016,000 after buying an additional 323,346 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $723.48, for a total value of $1,043,258.16. Following the sale, the director now owns 12,395 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,967,534.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $723.48, for a total value of $1,043,258.16. Following the sale, the director now owns 12,395 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,967,534.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $714.83, for a total value of $1,072,245.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,695 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,785,786.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 3,727 shares of company stock valued at $2,682,948 in the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

COST stock opened at $729.18 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $730.41 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $666.04. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The firm has a market cap of $323.39 billion, a PE ratio of 47.69, a P/E/G ratio of 4.81 and a beta of 0.77. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1-year low of $476.75 and a 1-year high of $787.08.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.62 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $58.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $59.11 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 28.80% and a net margin of 2.73%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.30 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 26th will be paid a $1.16 dividend. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 25th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.64%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.35%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on COST. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $795.00 to $805.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Loop Capital dropped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $830.00 to $820.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Roth Mkm raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $601.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. StockNews.com cut Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Tigress Financial raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $745.00 to $870.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $694.48.

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.