Weatherly Asset Management L. P. Sells 78 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Weatherly Asset Management L. P. cut its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 29,197 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 78 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale comprises approximately 2.1% of Weatherly Asset Management L. P.’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest holding. Weatherly Asset Management L. P.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $19,705,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Richelieu Gestion SA purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 200.0% during the fourth quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 45 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Steph & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 42.3% in the third quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 74 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of COST stock traded up $7.22 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $722.68. 1,174,884 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,079,065. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $730.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $662.88. The company has a market cap of $320.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.21, a PEG ratio of 4.73 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.93. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12 month low of $476.75 and a 12 month high of $787.08.

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

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors of record on Friday, April 26th will be given 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 yield of 0.64%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is presently 26.68%.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of the business’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 of the company’s stock, valued at $8,967,534.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Costco Wholesale news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of the business’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 of the company’s stock, valued at $8,967,534.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $722.86, for a total transaction of $567,445.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,228,600. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 3,727 shares of company stock valued at $2,682,948. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $760.00 to $805.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Loop Capital dropped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $830.00 to $820.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Tigress Financial upped their price target 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. Roth Mkm upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $601.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $795.00 to $805.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $694.48.

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.