Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA Decreases Stock Holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA trimmed its position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 0.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 244,202 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 1,582 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale comprises about 2.3% of Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA's investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA owned about 0.06% of Costco Wholesale worth $238,302,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,201,610 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $38,668,069,000 after purchasing an additional 455,043 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,739,175 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $8,901,249,000 after purchasing an additional 252,118 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,457,824 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $8,665,921,000 after purchasing an additional 149,209 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 106,402.1% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,160,190 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $7,717,744,000 after purchasing an additional 8,152,528 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at $5,182,316,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:COST traded up $2.23 during trading on Friday, reaching $985.14. 2,128,085 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,073,172. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $793.00 and a fifty-two week high of $1,078.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The firm has a market cap of $436.89 billion, a PE ratio of 55.88, a P/E/G ratio of 5.82 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $1,003.90 and a 200-day simple moving average of $981.10.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $63.21 billion during 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 firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.78 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current 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 issued a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.53%. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 2nd. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is presently 29.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 43,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,161,193.58. The trade was a 8.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of Costco Wholesale 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 8,210 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,326,171.50. The trade was a 19.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 9,547 shares of company stock worth $9,496,950. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on COST shares. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 target price on Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Barclays upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on 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. Mizuho started coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, April 11th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $975.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their target price 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, June 17th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,034.79.

Costco Wholesale Company 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.