Obermeyer Wood Investment Counsel Lllp Trims Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Obermeyer Wood Investment Counsel Lllp trimmed its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 4.2% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 2,006 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 87 shares during the period. Obermeyer Wood Investment Counsel Lllp’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,324,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in COST. Gray Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 9.5% during the 4th quarter. Gray Wealth Management Inc. now owns 551 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $364,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Xponance Inc. increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 102,317 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $67,537,000 after buying an additional 3,583 shares during the period. Delta Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Delta Financial Advisors LLC now owns 4,121 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,720,000 after buying an additional 221 shares during the period. Dock Street Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth approximately $205,000. Finally, Peterson Wealth Services acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $10,010,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock traded down $3.94 on Thursday, hitting $711.25. 1,735,296 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,096,731. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12-month low of $476.75 and a 12-month high of $787.08. 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 market cap of $315.44 billion, a PE ratio of 46.85, a PEG ratio of 4.77 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $730.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $659.23.

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

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The firm 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. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.65%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 25th. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.68%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Truist Financial upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $693.00 to $741.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 21st. StockNews.com downgraded Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $800.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Roth Mkm increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $601.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Loop Capital decreased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $830.00 to $820.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $691.28.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $714.83, for a total value of $1,072,245.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,785,786.85. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 12,395 shares in the company, valued at $8,967,534.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $714.83, for a total transaction of $1,072,245.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,785,786.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 10,942 shares of company stock worth $7,602,943 over the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.