Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Position Trimmed by Leonard Rickey Investment Advisors P.L.L.C.

Leonard Rickey Investment Advisors P.L.L.C. decreased its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 3,468 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 96 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale accounts for about 0.7% of Leonard Rickey Investment Advisors P.L.L.C.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest position. Leonard Rickey Investment Advisors P.L.L.C.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $2,948,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. GUNN & Co INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT INC. lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1,016.9% in the 4th quarter. GUNN & Co INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT INC. now owns 56,516 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $37,305,000 after acquiring an additional 51,456 shares in the last quarter. Monument Capital Management boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 37.9% in the fourth quarter. Monument Capital Management now owns 728 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $481,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 2,125 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,403,000 after buying an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 13.7% during the fourth quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,768 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,167,000 after buying an additional 213 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth about $2,260,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

NASDAQ COST traded down $1.32 on Friday, reaching $876.24. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 589,397 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,962,864. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52 week low of $530.56 and a 52 week high of $896.67. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The firm has a market cap of $388.46 billion, a PE ratio of 54.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.84 and a beta of 0.78. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $850.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $786.82.

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

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 26th were paid a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 26th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.53%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.75%.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $876.50, for a total transaction of $543,430.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 11,775 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,320,787.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $876.50, for a total transaction of $543,430.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 11,775 shares in the company, valued at $10,320,787.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 350 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $851.53, for a total value of $298,035.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 5,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,041,057.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 4,970 shares of company stock valued at $4,249,526. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

COST has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Loop Capital lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $970.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $875.00 to $950.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $900.00 to $950.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Gordon Haskett raised Costco Wholesale from an “accumulate” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $925.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $815.00 to $873.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $824.50.

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.