Cannell & Co. Sells 211 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Cannell & Co. lowered its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 62,959 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 211 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale comprises about 1.3% of Cannell & Co.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Cannell & Co.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $41,558,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in COST. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 28,855 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $16,302,000 after purchasing an additional 273 shares in the last quarter. Keating Investment Counselors Inc. increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 43.0% during the 3rd quarter. Keating Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 2,643 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,493,000 after purchasing an additional 795 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 28.9% during the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 272,288 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $179,822,000 after purchasing an additional 61,122 shares in the last quarter. Rice Partnership LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 21.0% during the 3rd quarter. Rice Partnership LLC now owns 11,741 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $6,633,000 after purchasing an additional 2,038 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rappaport Reiches Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 23.5% during the 4th quarter. Rappaport Reiches Capital Management LLC now owns 814 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $538,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of the 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 transaction, the director now owns 12,395 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,967,534.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other 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 transaction of $1,043,258.16. Following the sale, the director now owns 12,395 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,967,534.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,228,600. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 3,727 shares of company stock worth $2,682,948. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on COST shares. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $630.00 to $710.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $795.00 to $805.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and set a $680.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $800.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Tigress Financial boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $745.00 to $870.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $694.48.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock traded up $1.01 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $723.91. The company had a trading volume of 458,996 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,025,948. The stock has a market cap of $321.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.12, a PEG ratio of 4.84 and a beta of 0.77. 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 fifty day simple moving average of $730.40 and a 200 day simple moving average of $669.72. 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 the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $59.11 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.30 EPS. Costco Wholesale’s revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors of record on Friday, April 26th will be issued a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.64%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 25th. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is 30.35%.

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.