Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) is Cadinha & Co. LLC's 2nd Largest Position

Cadinha & Co. LLC lowered its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 0.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 39,186 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 307 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale accounts for approximately 8.0% of Cadinha & Co. LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Cadinha & Co. LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $37,062,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 250.0% during the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 35 shares of the retailer's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Collier Financial purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Barrett & Company Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 59.3% during the fourth quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 43 shares of the retailer's stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 4.0%

COST traded up $40.04 during trading on Friday, hitting $1,048.78. The stock had a trading volume of 5,400,884 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,051,940. The company has a market capitalization of $465.33 billion, a PE ratio of 61.58, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 1.00. Costco Wholesale Co. has a twelve month low of $793.00 and a twelve month high of $1,078.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.98. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $983.85 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $975.63.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.04. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 32.31%. The business had revenue of $63.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $62.93 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.78 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 2nd. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is presently 30.36%.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In related news, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $931.00, for a total transaction of $3,351,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 41,077 shares of the company's stock, valued at $38,242,687. This trade represents a 8.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $981.07, for a total transaction of $3,924,280.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 43,994 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $43,161,193.58. This trade represents a 8.33% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 9,600 shares of company stock worth $9,140,195. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on COST shares. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,225.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday. Mizuho started coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, April 11th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $975.00 target price for the company. Cfra Research upgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. DA Davidson increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $1,100.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,035.32.

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.