Foster & Motley Inc. Cuts Stock Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Foster & Motley Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 17.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 508 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 111 shares during the quarter. Foster & Motley Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $335,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 63.8% in the 3rd quarter. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC now owns 113 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $64,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the period. Strategic Blueprint LLC increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 9.8% in the 3rd quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC now owns 3,787 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,139,000 after purchasing an additional 339 shares during the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 19.0% in the 3rd quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 7,684 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,341,000 after purchasing an additional 1,229 shares in the last quarter. Heritage Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. Heritage Wealth Partners LLC now owns 436 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $246,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Liberty Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 0.5% in the third quarter. Liberty Capital Management Inc. now owns 17,307 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $9,778,000 after buying an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on COST. Gordon Haskett cut shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to an “accumulate” rating and set a $775.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $610.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Tigress Financial raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $745.00 to $870.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Oppenheimer upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $760.00 to $805.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $630.00 to $710.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $694.48.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of the company’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 transaction, the director now directly owns 12,395 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,967,534.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $723.48, for a total transaction of $1,043,258.16. Following the sale, the director now owns 12,395 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,967,534.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $722.86, for a total value of $567,445.10. Following the sale, 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. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 3,727 shares of company stock worth $2,682,948. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ COST opened at $723.89 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The stock has a market cap of $321.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.34, a PEG ratio of 4.81 and a beta of 0.77. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $730.36 and its 200 day moving average price is $664.46. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52 week low of $476.75 and a 52 week high of $787.08.

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

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business 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 $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.64%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 25th. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 26.68%.

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.