Welch & Forbes LLC Sells 2,149 Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Welch & Forbes LLC cut its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 1.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 165,611 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 2,149 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale comprises 2.0% of Welch & Forbes LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. Welch & Forbes LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $156,632,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Clear Investment Research LLC increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 22.2% during the fourth quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 55 shares of the retailer's stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the period. Aspect Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 24.4% during the first quarter. Aspect Partners LLC now owns 56 shares of the retailer's stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the period. Capital A Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $58,000. Finally, Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $59,000. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on COST. Mizuho started coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, April 11th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $975.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on 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. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $1,100.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,060.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 17th. Finally, Cfra Research upgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,037.48.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $974.96, for a total value of $3,899,840.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 5,774 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,629,419.04. The trade was a 40.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Patrick J. Callans sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,002.77, for a total value of $3,008,310.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 58,543 shares in the company, valued at $58,705,164.11. The trade was a 4.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 9,547 shares of company stock valued at $9,472,510 in the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock traded up $2.59 on Thursday, hitting $953.96. The stock had a trading volume of 1,651,778 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,064,719. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $1,001.13 and a 200 day moving average of $982.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $423.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.09, a PEG ratio of 6.02 and a beta of 0.97. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a twelve month low of $793.00 and a twelve month 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.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $63.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.78 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Friday, August 1st will be given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.55%. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio is currently 29.50%.

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.