Arkfeld Wealth Strategies L.L.C. Reduces Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Arkfeld Wealth Strategies L.L.C. lessened its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 5.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,873 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 99 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale comprises approximately 0.8% of Arkfeld Wealth Strategies L.L.C.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest position. Arkfeld Wealth Strategies L.L.C.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,354,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of COST. Richelieu Gestion SA bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 200.0% in 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. bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Vima LLC bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $710.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Telsey Advisory Group boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 6th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $905.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 6th. Loop Capital upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $890.00 to $940.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 14th. Finally, Gordon Haskett downgraded Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to an “accumulate” rating and set a $775.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $756.85.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock traded up $1.33 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $856.84. The stock had a trading volume of 1,457,058 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,976,218. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $793.52 and a two-hundred day moving average of $735.97. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12-month low of $522.10 and a 12-month high of $873.96. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The firm has a market cap of $379.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.66 and a beta of 0.79.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 30th. The retailer reported $3.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.70 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $58.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $58.16 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.83% and a return on equity of 30.02%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.43 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors of record on Friday, April 26th were given a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 25th. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.54%. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.75%.

About Costco Wholesale

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.