Hanson & Doremus Investment Management Has $10.78 Million Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Hanson & Doremus Investment Management increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 2.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 11,394 shares of the retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 320 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale comprises about 1.6% of Hanson & Doremus Investment Management's investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest position. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $10,776,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in COST. Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 250.0% during the 4th quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 35 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 22.2% in the fourth quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 55 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital A Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at about $58,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on COST. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of 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. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $995.00 to $1,042.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,225.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,035.32.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $922.56, for a total transaction of $830,304.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,987 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,445,926.72. This represents a 11.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Gary Millerchip sold 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 of the company's stock, valued at $10,495,211.65. This represents a 8.97% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 11,000 shares of company stock valued at $10,825,205 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:COST opened at $990.21 on Monday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52 week low of $793.00 and a 52 week 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 company has a market capitalization of $439.14 billion, a PE ratio of 58.15, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $1,000.43 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $981.10.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last issued its 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 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast 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 given a dividend of $1.30 per share. 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.53%. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio is currently 29.50%.

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.

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