Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc. Sells 915 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 5.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 14,759 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 915 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale comprises approximately 3.5% of Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc.'s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $13,958,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

COST has been the topic of several analyst reports. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $1,100.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Truist Financial upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $995.00 to $1,042.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, March 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,035.32.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

COST traded down $12.50 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $990.21. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,782,964 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,067,253. The stock has a market cap of $439.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.15, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $1,000.43 and a 200 day simple moving average of $980.96. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. Costco Wholesale Co. has a twelve month low of $793.00 and a twelve month high of $1,078.24.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last announced 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 return on equity of 32.31% and a net margin of 2.93%. The business had revenue of $63.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $62.93 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.78 EPS. Costco Wholesale's quarterly revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect 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. Investors of record on Friday, May 2nd were issued a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 2nd. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio is currently 29.50%.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale 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 now directly owns 43,994 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $43,161,193.58. The trade was a 8.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,014.15, for a total value 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 represents a 19.59% 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.

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.