Beaton Management Co. Inc. Decreases Stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Beaton Management Co. Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 2.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,980 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 100 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale comprises 1.6% of Beaton Management Co. Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest holding. Beaton Management Co. Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $2,627,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Howard Financial Services LTD. increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. now owns 870 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $574,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the period. First National Corp MA ADV boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. First National Corp MA ADV now owns 3,098 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,045,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Morton Capital Management LLC CA boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Morton Capital Management LLC CA now owns 1,564 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,032,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Insight Advisors LLC PA boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Insight Advisors LLC PA now owns 2,736 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,807,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Optas LLC boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Optas LLC now owns 2,383 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,573,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.1 %

COST traded up $0.93 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $801.86. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,191,507 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,978,666. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $738.35 and its 200-day moving average price is $692.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.43. The stock has a market cap of $355.62 billion, a PE ratio of 52.66, a PEG ratio of 5.28 and a beta of 0.77. Costco Wholesale Co. has a twelve month low of $476.75 and a twelve month high of $806.35.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.62 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $58.44 billion during 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 revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.30 EPS. On average, 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors of record on Friday, April 26th were issued a $1.16 dividend. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 25th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.35%.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The stock was 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 directly owns 6,695 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,785,786.85. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,785,786.85. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on COST. StockNews.com raised Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $805.00 to $850.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Tigress Financial boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $745.00 to $870.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Roth Mkm boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $601.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $680.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $696.88.

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.