Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC Sells 2,407 Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC reduced its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 6.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 36,666 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 2,407 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale makes up 1.6% of Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $34,678,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,739,175 shares of the retailer's stock worth $8,901,249,000 after acquiring an additional 252,118 shares during the last quarter. F&V Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 1st quarter worth $236,000. RW Investment Management LLC raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 21.3% in the 4th quarter. RW Investment Management LLC now owns 5,624 shares of the retailer's stock worth $5,153,000 after purchasing an additional 989 shares during the period. AMJ Financial Wealth Management raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. AMJ Financial Wealth Management now owns 10,536 shares of the retailer's stock worth $9,654,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares during the period. Finally, Umpqua Bank raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 14.7% in the 4th quarter. Umpqua Bank now owns 4,507 shares of the retailer's stock worth $4,134,000 after purchasing an additional 577 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $922.56, for a total transaction of $830,304.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,987 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,445,926.72. The trade was a 11.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Gary Millerchip sold 1,100 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $940.01, for a total transaction of $1,034,011.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,165 shares in the company, valued at $10,495,211.65. The trade was a 8.97% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 11,000 shares of company stock worth $10,825,205 over the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ COST opened at $977.72 on Wednesday. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 1 year low of $793.00 and a 1 year high of $1,078.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 0.52. The company's 50-day moving average is $1,002.19 and its 200 day moving average is $981.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $433.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.46, a P/E/G ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 1.00.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.04. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 30.48%. The company had revenue of $63.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $62.93 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.78 earnings per share. Costco Wholesale's quarterly revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 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 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 2nd were given a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.53%. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is currently 29.50%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on COST shares. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $995.00 to $1,042.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Loop Capital decreased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,110.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $1,100.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Mizuho started coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, April 11th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $975.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,034.79.

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.

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