Chemistry Wealth Management LLC Has $2.78 Million Stock Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Chemistry Wealth Management LLC cut its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.7% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,939 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 22 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale comprises approximately 0.6% of Chemistry Wealth Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest holding. Chemistry Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $2,780,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Verum Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 25.0% in the first quarter. Verum Partners LLC now owns 626 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $592,000 after buying an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Pines Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.7% in the first quarter. Pines Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,932 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,756,000 after buying an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Pitti Group Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the first quarter valued at $224,000. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.7% in the first quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,727 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,634,000 after buying an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.3% in the first quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,454 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $9,887,000 after buying an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Gary Millerchip sold 1,100 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $940.01, for a total value of $1,034,011.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 11,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,495,211.65. This trade represents a 8.97% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $922.56, for a total value of $830,304.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,987 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,445,926.72. This represents a 11.41% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 9,600 shares of company stock worth $9,140,195 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on COST. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,070.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 price objective on Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,035.32.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of COST opened at $1,014.94 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1 year low of $793.00 and a 1 year high of $1,078.24. The stock has a market cap of $450.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 59.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 1.00. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $993.68 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $979.31.

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

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

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