Beese Fulmer Investment Management Inc. Has $28.72 Million Stock Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Beese Fulmer Investment Management Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 1.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 30,364 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 437 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale accounts for approximately 2.5% of Beese Fulmer Investment Management Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest position. Beese Fulmer Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $28,718,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of COST. Capital & Planning LLC boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 28.7% in the fourth quarter. Capital & Planning LLC now owns 3,756 shares of the retailer's stock worth $3,441,000 after buying an additional 837 shares in the last quarter. Redmond Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,214,000. May Barnhard Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth approximately $485,000. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. now owns 3,852 shares of the retailer's stock worth $3,529,000 after buying an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 12.3% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 19,825 shares of the retailer's stock worth $18,165,000 after buying an additional 2,172 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 4.0%

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock traded up $40.04 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $1,048.78. 5,400,884 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,051,940. 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 company has a market cap of $465.33 billion, a PE ratio of 61.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 1.00. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $983.85 and a 200-day moving average of $975.63. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12 month low of $793.00 and a 12 month high of $1,078.24.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $63.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $62.93 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 32.31% and a net margin of 2.93%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.78 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on COST shares. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Cfra Research raised Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 price objective on Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Mizuho started coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, April 11th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $975.00 price objective for the company. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,035.32.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $922.56, for a total value of $830,304.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,987 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,445,926.72. This represents a 11.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $981.07, for a total value of $3,924,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now 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 90 days, insiders sold 9,600 shares of company stock worth $9,140,195. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Costco Wholesale

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.