Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Sold by Avity Investment Management Inc.

Avity Investment Management Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 8.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 496 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 45 shares during the quarter. Avity Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $469,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital & Planning LLC increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 28.7% in the 4th quarter. Capital & Planning LLC now owns 3,756 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,441,000 after buying an additional 837 shares during the period. Redmond Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,214,000. May Barnhard Investments LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth approximately $485,000. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. now owns 3,852 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,529,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the period. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 12.3% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 19,825 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $18,165,000 after buying an additional 2,172 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $931.00, for a total transaction of $3,351,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 41,077 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,242,687. This trade represents a 8.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of the firm’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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 43,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $43,161,193.58. The trade was a 8.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Loop Capital cut their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,110.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Cfra Research raised shares of Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Mizuho began coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, April 11th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $975.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,035.32.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ COST opened at $1,010.81 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $992.47 and a 200-day simple moving average of $978.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $448.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52 week low of $793.00 and a 52 week high of $1,078.24.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $63.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $62.93 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 32.31%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.78 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were given a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.51%. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 2nd. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is 29.50%.

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.