Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Sold by Marco Investment Management LLC

Marco Investment Management LLC lessened its position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.7% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 41,939 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 739 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale accounts for about 2.8% of Marco Investment Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest holding. Marco Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $27,683,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of COST. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 28,855 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $16,302,000 after purchasing an additional 273 shares during the period. Keating Investment Counselors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 43.0% during the 3rd quarter. Keating Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 2,643 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,493,000 after purchasing an additional 795 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 61,122 shares in the last quarter. Rice Partnership LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 2,038 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rappaport Reiches Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $722.86, for a total value of $567,445.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,228,600. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $722.86, for a total transaction of $567,445.10. Following the transaction, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 12,395 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,967,534.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 3,727 shares of company stock valued at $2,682,948 in the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 1.0 %

COST stock traded up $7.32 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $729.18. 1,524,431 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,663,722. The company has a market cap of $323.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.69, a PEG ratio of 4.86 and a beta of 0.77. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $730.41 and its 200-day moving average is $667.48. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12 month low of $476.75 and a 12 month high of $787.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.43.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.62 by $0.09. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 28.80% and a net margin of 2.73%. The business had revenue of $58.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $59.11 billion. Costco Wholesale’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.30 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

COST has been the topic of several recent research reports. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $760.00 to $805.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Gordon Haskett lowered shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to an “accumulate” rating and set a $775.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Roth Mkm boosted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $601.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $610.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $694.48.

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.