Blume Capital Management Inc. Has $4.53 Million Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Blume Capital Management Inc. trimmed its position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,864 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 112 shares during the period. Blume Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $4,531,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of COST. Richelieu Gestion SA bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 200.0% during the 4th quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 45 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Steph & Co. boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 42.3% in the 3rd quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 74 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the period. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at about $49,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 1.4 %

COST traded up $10.64 on Thursday, reaching $774.05. 567,134 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,013,764. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The company has a market cap of $343.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.95 and a beta of 0.77. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $731.22 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $675.97. Costco Wholesale Co. has a one year low of $476.75 and a one year high of $787.08.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.62 by $0.09. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 28.80% and a net margin of 2.73%. The business had revenue of $58.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $59.11 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.30 EPS. Costco Wholesale’s revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.84 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 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 26th will be paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 25th. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.60%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.35%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on COST shares. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $760.00 to $805.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $610.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Tigress Financial raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $745.00 to $870.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $665.00 to $749.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $630.00 to $710.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $694.48.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

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

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.