LS Investment Advisors LLC Has $8.67 Million Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

LS Investment Advisors LLC decreased its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 2.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,167 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 252 shares during the period. LS Investment Advisors LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $8,670,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in COST. Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC increased its stake 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 acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. Collier Financial bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Barrett & Company Inc. lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 59.3% in the fourth quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 43 shares of the retailer's stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

COST has been the topic of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, March 7th. Barclays boosted their price target 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. Loop Capital reduced their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,110.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,035.32.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.4%

Costco Wholesale stock traded up $4.13 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $1,014.94. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,852,907 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,054,991. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52-week low of $793.00 and a 52-week high of $1,078.24. The company has a market cap of $450.31 billion, a PE ratio of 59.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.43. The firm's 50 day moving average is $992.47 and its 200 day moving average is $978.72.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last issued its 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $62.93 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 32.31% and a net margin of 2.93%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.78 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were given a $1.30 dividend. 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.51%. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio is presently 29.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other news, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $931.00, for a total transaction of $3,351,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 41,077 shares in the company, valued at $38,242,687. The trade was a 8.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $981.07, for a total value of $3,924,280.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 9,600 shares of company stock valued at $9,140,195 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

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.