Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Sells 22 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC lessened its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 2.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 822 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 22 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $543,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in COST. Richelieu Gestion SA bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 200.0% during the 4th quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 45 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Steph & Co. grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 42.3% during the 3rd quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 74 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,695 shares in the company, valued at $4,785,786.85. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,695 shares in the company, valued at $4,785,786.85. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,228,600. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 3,727 shares of company stock worth $2,682,948 over the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 1.0 %

NASDAQ:COST opened at $729.18 on Friday. 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 fifty day simple moving average of $730.41 and a 200-day simple moving average of $666.04. The company has a market cap of $323.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.81 and a beta of 0.77. Costco Wholesale Co. has a twelve month low of $476.75 and a twelve month high of $787.08.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.62 by $0.09. The firm 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.30 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.84 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors of record on Friday, April 26th will be 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 dividend yield of 0.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 25th. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is presently 30.35%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on COST shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $610.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $760.00 to $805.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a 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 for the company. in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Roth Mkm raised their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $601.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $795.00 to $805.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $694.48.

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.