Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Sold by Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc.

Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 10.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 110,131 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 12,300 shares during the quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $72,695,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of COST. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 1.0% in the third quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 28,855 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $16,302,000 after buying an additional 273 shares during the last quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 1,763 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,164,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 28.9% during the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 272,288 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $179,822,000 after buying an additional 61,122 shares during the period. Metis Global Partners LLC lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 15.6% during the fourth quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 21,514 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $14,201,000 after buying an additional 2,909 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rice Partnership LLC increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 21.0% in the third quarter. Rice Partnership LLC now owns 11,741 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $6,633,000 after acquiring an additional 2,038 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 0.1 %

NASDAQ COST traded down $0.47 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $801.39. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 676,176 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,965,421. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52 week low of $476.75 and a 52 week high of $808.05. 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 $355.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.60, a P/E/G ratio of 5.33 and a beta of 0.77. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $739.71 and a 200-day simple moving average of $693.12.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.62 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $58.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $59.11 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 28.80% and a net margin of 2.73%. Costco Wholesale’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.30 EPS. Equities 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 was paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 26th were issued a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 25th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.58%. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.35%.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $722.86, for a total value of $567,445.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,228,600. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $722.86, for a total value of $567,445.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,228,600. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,785,786.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on COST shares. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $800.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Monday, May 6th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $810.00 to $820.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 14th. Citigroup upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $630.00 to $710.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Tigress Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $745.00 to $870.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Finally, Loop Capital lowered their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $830.00 to $820.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $696.88.

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.