Klingenstein Fields & Co. LP decreased its holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 0.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 54,180 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 307 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale accounts for approximately 2.2% of Klingenstein Fields & Co. LP's holdings, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. Klingenstein Fields & Co. LP's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $51,243,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. May Barnhard Investments LLC bought a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at about $485,000. 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 purchasing an additional 2,172 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 13.1% in the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,123 shares of the retailer's stock worth $1,029,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 33.3% during the fourth quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 188 shares of the retailer's stock worth $172,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 45.0% in the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 117,254 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $107,436,000 after buying an additional 36,384 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
Costco Wholesale Stock Performance
Shares of COST stock traded up $3.91 on Friday, hitting $986.27. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,101,351 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,076,297. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 1.02. The company has a market capitalization of $437.39 billion, a PE ratio of 55.94, a PEG ratio of 6.14 and a beta of 0.97. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $793.00 and a fifty-two week high of $1,078.24. The stock's 50 day moving average is $1,005.20 and its 200-day moving average is $981.08.
Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 earnings per share 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 net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 30.48%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.78 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.53%. This is an increase 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 is presently 29.50%.
Insider Buying and Selling
In related news, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 43,994 shares of the company's stock, valued at $43,161,193.58. The trade was a 8.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,014.15, for a total transaction of $2,028,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 8,210 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,326,171.50. This represents a 19.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 9,547 shares of company stock valued at $9,496,950. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.
Analyst Ratings Changes
A number of brokerages have commented on COST. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,060.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 17th. Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Mizuho initiated coverage on Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, April 11th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $975.00 price objective for the company. Robert W. Baird increased 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 6th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,034.79.
Check Out Our Latest Report on COST
About Costco Wholesale
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Free Report)
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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