Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Sold by Chesley Taft & Associates LLC

Chesley Taft & Associates LLC decreased its position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 1.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 68,488 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 963 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale makes up about 3.1% of Chesley Taft & Associates LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $64,775,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC boosted its position in 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 in the last quarter. Collier Financial acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Barrett & Company Inc. increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 59.3% in the fourth quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 43 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

NASDAQ:COST traded up $4.13 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $1,014.94. 1,852,907 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,054,992. The stock has a market capitalization of $450.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 59.60, a P/E/G ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 1.00. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1 year low of $793.00 and a 1 year high of $1,078.24. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $992.47 and a 200-day simple moving average of $978.72. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $63.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $62.93 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.78 EPS. Costco Wholesale's revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 2nd were given a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.51%. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 2nd. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The shares were 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 $6,445,926.72. This trade represents a 11.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 41,077 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $38,242,687. The trade was a 8.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 9,600 shares of company stock valued at $9,140,195. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

COST has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,070.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $1,100.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Tuesday. Barclays lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,225.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average 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.