Sterling Investment Counsel LLC Raises Stock Position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Sterling Investment Counsel LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 49.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,044 shares of the retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 676 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale accounts for approximately 0.7% of Sterling Investment Counsel LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest holding. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,934,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in COST. Cromwell Holdings LLC lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 1,144 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,048,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the period. 44 Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. 44 Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,488 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $3,196,000 after buying an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. SRN Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. SRN Advisors LLC now owns 3,081 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $2,823,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the period. Miramar Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Miramar Capital LLC now owns 525 shares of the retailer's stock worth $481,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clear Investment Research LLC grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 22.2% in the 4th quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 55 shares of the retailer's stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

COST has been the subject of several research reports. Barclays lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Cfra Research raised Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,225.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,034.79.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of the firm'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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 43,994 shares in the company, valued at $43,161,193.58. This trade represents a 8.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $922.56, for a total value of $830,304.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,987 shares in the company, valued at $6,445,926.72. This represents a 11.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 11,000 shares of company stock worth $10,825,205 in the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.3%

NASDAQ:COST traded up $2.72 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $977.62. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,326,374 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,062,621. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 0.52. The stock has a market cap of $433.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.48, a P/E/G ratio of 5.76 and a beta of 1.00. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $1,002.60 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $981.11. Costco Wholesale Corporation 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 data on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.04. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 30.48%. The business had revenue of $63.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $62.93 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.78 EPS. The company's revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.50%.

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.