Norris Perne & French LLP MI Trims Stock Holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Norris Perne & French LLP MI lessened its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 13.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,240 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 670 shares during the quarter. Norris Perne & French LLP MI's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $4,010,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital & Planning LLC increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 28.7% in the fourth quarter. Capital & Planning LLC now owns 3,756 shares of the retailer's stock worth $3,441,000 after acquiring an additional 837 shares during the period. Redmond Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at $1,214,000. May Barnhard Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at $485,000. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. now owns 3,852 shares of the retailer's stock worth $3,529,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the period. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 12.3% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 19,825 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $18,165,000 after buying an additional 2,172 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of COST opened at $974.90 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $1,002.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $981.11. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a one year low of $793.00 and a one year high of $1,078.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 1.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $432.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.30, a PEG ratio of 5.76 and a beta of 1.00.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $63.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $62.93 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 30.48%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.78 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The firm 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. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 2nd. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio is currently 29.50%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Mizuho began coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, April 11th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $975.00 target price for the company. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $1,100.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,034.79.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

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

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