Hanson & Doremus Investment Management Has $10.78 Million Stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

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

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

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,210 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,326,171.50. This trade represents a 19.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of Costco Wholesale 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 43,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,161,193.58. This represents a 8.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 11,000 shares of company stock worth $10,825,205. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ COST traded down $2.82 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $974.90. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,506,193 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,065,457. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a one year low of $793.00 and a one year high of $1,078.24. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $1,002.39 and its 200-day simple moving average is $981.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 0.52. The stock has a market cap of $432.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.77 and a beta of 1.00.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $63.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $62.93 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 30.48%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.78 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 2nd were paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 2nd. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.53%. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is 29.50%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

COST has been the subject of several analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, March 7th. Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, March 7th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,060.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Cfra Research upgraded Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,034.79.

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.