Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST Stake Decreased by Welch & Forbes LLC

Welch & Forbes LLC lowered its position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 163,058 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 2,553 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale comprises about 2.0% of Welch & Forbes LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest holding. Welch & Forbes LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $161,418,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in COST. Peterson Wealth Services increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Peterson Wealth Services now owns 13,616 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $13,479,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the period. Fishman Jay A Ltd. MI increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 3.5% in the 2nd quarter. Fishman Jay A Ltd. MI now owns 16,888 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $16,718,000 after buying an additional 575 shares during the period. Independent Solutions Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Independent Solutions Wealth Management LLC now owns 20,638 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $20,430,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the period. Personal CFO Solutions LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 12.4% in the 1st quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 1,519 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,436,000 after buying an additional 167 shares during the period. Finally, Graybill Wealth Management LTD. purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 1st quarter worth about $3,095,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on COST shares. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $1,000.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, September 18th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Roth Capital set a $907.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $990.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 29th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,060.00 to $1,025.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Nineteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,068.15.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 0.9%

COST stock opened at $911.45 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $939.53 and a 200 day moving average of $970.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $403.94 billion, a PE ratio of 50.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.54 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 52 week low of $867.34 and a 52 week high of $1,078.23.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, September 25th. The retailer reported $5.87 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.81 by $0.06. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.94% and a return on equity of 30.09%. The company had revenue of $86.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $86.01 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $5.15 EPS. Costco Wholesale’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 31st will be given a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 31st. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 2,700 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $935.68, for a total transaction of $2,526,336.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 6,851 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,410,343.68. The trade was a 28.27% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 3,381 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $915.00, for a total transaction of $3,093,615.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 9,740 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,912,100. This trade represents a 25.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 7,920 shares of company stock valued at $7,373,175. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Costco Wholesale Company 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.