Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) is Chesley Taft & Associates LLC’s 4th Largest Position

Chesley Taft & Associates LLC decreased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 2.1% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 74,215 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 1,622 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale comprises 2.8% of Chesley Taft & Associates LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $54,372,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of COST. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 8.7% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 116,942 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $85,675,000 after buying an additional 9,344 shares during the period. Procyon Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 24.7% during the first quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 10,110 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,407,000 after purchasing an additional 2,004 shares in the last quarter. Cardinal Capital Management boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.6% in the first quarter. Cardinal Capital Management now owns 21,861 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $16,016,000 after buying an additional 557 shares during the period. ERn Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. ERn Financial LLC now owns 2,036 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,492,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the period. Finally, Mosley Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the first quarter valued at approximately $215,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.2 %

NASDAQ COST opened at $852.00 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $796.35 and its 200 day simple moving average is $736.82. Costco Wholesale Co. has a one year low of $524.63 and a one year high of $873.96. The firm has a market cap of $377.72 billion, a PE ratio of 52.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.67 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.45.

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

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders 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 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 0.54%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.75%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Gordon Haskett cut Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to an “accumulate” rating and set a $775.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Roth Mkm reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $676.00 price objective (up previously from $650.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, May 31st. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $680.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $860.00 to $890.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 20th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $710.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $756.85.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of Costco Wholesale 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 directly owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,228,600. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.