Northeast Investment Management Sells 1,497 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Northeast Investment Management trimmed its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 1.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 94,456 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 1,497 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale accounts for approximately 4.2% of Northeast Investment Management's holdings, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Northeast Investment Management's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $89,334,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. My Legacy Advisors LLC grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 11.9% in the 1st quarter. My Legacy Advisors LLC now owns 2,902 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $2,745,000 after buying an additional 309 shares in the last quarter. Curbstone Financial Management Corp lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 41.1% in the 1st quarter. Curbstone Financial Management Corp now owns 618 shares of the retailer's stock worth $584,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the period. Columbia Advisory Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3.1% in the first quarter. Columbia Advisory Partners LLC now owns 1,573 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,488,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.9% during the first quarter. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 2,689 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $2,543,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 12.6% during the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,203,857 shares of the retailer's stock worth $1,138,584,000 after purchasing an additional 135,085 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of COST stock traded down $12.50 during trading on Friday, hitting $990.21. 1,782,964 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,061,596. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $998.80 and its 200 day simple moving average is $980.70. Costco Wholesale Co. has a twelve month low of $793.00 and a twelve month high of $1,078.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $439.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.15, a P/E/G ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.98.

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. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 32.31%. The company had revenue of $63.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $62.93 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.78 EPS. The company's revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $1,100.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. Mizuho started coverage on Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, April 11th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $975.00 target price on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,035.32.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Costco Wholesale news, 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 $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 SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $922.56, for a total transaction of $830,304.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,987 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,445,926.72. This trade represents a 11.41% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 11,000 shares of company stock valued at $10,825,205 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Costco Wholesale 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.