Talbot Financial LLC Has $16.16 Million Stock Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Talbot Financial LLC trimmed its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 4.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 17,084 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 753 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale accounts for approximately 2.0% of Talbot Financial LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Talbot Financial LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $16,158,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 3.6% during the first quarter. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC now owns 5,089 shares of the retailer's stock worth $4,813,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. Woodstock Corp increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.0% in the first quarter. Woodstock Corp now owns 22,471 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $21,253,000 after purchasing an additional 439 shares during the period. Iowa State Bank grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.7% during the first quarter. Iowa State Bank now owns 2,166 shares of the retailer's stock worth $2,049,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the period. Advance Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 12.4% during the first quarter. Advance Capital Management Inc. now owns 417 shares of the retailer's stock worth $395,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the period. Finally, Czech National Bank grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 6.1% during the first quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 101,956 shares of the retailer's stock worth $96,428,000 after acquiring an additional 5,888 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

COST has been the topic of several research reports. Barclays upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Cfra Research raised Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Loop Capital dropped 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. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,035.32.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $922.56, for a total value of $830,304.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,987 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,445,926.72. The trade was a 11.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction 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 transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 9,600 shares of company stock valued at $9,140,195 over the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

NASDAQ:COST traded up $16.67 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $1,056.85. 2,146,355 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,052,281. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $468.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 62.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 1.00. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $983.85 and a two-hundred day moving average of $975.99. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12 month low of $793.00 and a 12 month high of $1,078.24.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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 business 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 revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.78 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 2nd. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is 30.36%.

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.