Johnson Financial Group Inc. Has $1.51 Million Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Johnson Financial Group Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 3.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 2,292 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 82 shares during the period. Johnson Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,513,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in COST. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 194.0% in the third quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC now owns 13,404 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,573,000 after purchasing an additional 8,845 shares during the period. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,543,000. Lincoln National Corp increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.4% in the third quarter. Lincoln National Corp now owns 22,853 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $12,911,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the period. Financial Advisory Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the third quarter worth about $203,000. Finally, Wilbanks Smith & Thomas Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.1% in the third quarter. Wilbanks Smith & Thomas Asset Management LLC now owns 25,175 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $14,223,000 after acquiring an additional 271 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $7,228,600. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,228,600. The transaction was disclosed in a 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 value of $1,072,245.00. Following the sale, 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.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:COST traded up $13.39 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $809.73. 1,621,928 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,970,665. 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 Co. has a 12 month low of $476.75 and a 12 month high of $816.87. The company has a market cap of $359.12 billion, a PE ratio of 52.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.34 and a beta of 0.77. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $742.68 and a 200-day moving average price of $695.50.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued 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. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 28.80% and a net margin of 2.73%. The firm had revenue of $58.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $59.11 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.30 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 26th were paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 25th. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.57%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.35%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

COST has been the subject of several analyst reports. Roth Mkm raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $601.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $680.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Loop Capital cut their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $830.00 to $820.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Tigress Financial lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $745.00 to $870.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $805.00 to $850.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.