Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. Lowers Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. lowered its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 3.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 451,603 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 13,961 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale makes up approximately 5.0% of Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC.'s holdings, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. owned approximately 0.10% of Costco Wholesale worth $413,790,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in COST. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 7.0% in the fourth quarter. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,822 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,670,000 after buying an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Grassi Investment Management lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 6.5% during the 4th quarter. Grassi Investment Management now owns 5,155 shares of the retailer's stock worth $4,723,000 after buying an additional 315 shares in the last quarter. Capital & Planning LLC grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 28.7% during the 4th 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 last quarter. Redmond Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth about $1,214,000. Finally, Jackson Square Capital LLC increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. Jackson Square Capital LLC now owns 8,201 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $7,514,000 after acquiring an additional 470 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of COST stock opened at $1,034.34 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $458.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 60.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 1.00. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52 week low of $788.20 and a 52 week high of $1,078.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.98. The company's 50 day moving average price is $963.62 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $969.49.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.09 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $63.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $63.02 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 32.31% and a net margin of 2.93%. On average, analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were issued a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.50%. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 2nd. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is 30.36%.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Gary Millerchip sold 1,100 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $940.01, for a total value of $1,034,011.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,165 shares in the company, valued at $10,495,211.65. This trade represents a 8.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 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 of the company's stock, valued at $6,445,926.72. The trade was a 11.41% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 9,600 shares of company stock valued at $9,140,195 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on COST. Loop Capital reduced their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,045.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,035.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Mizuho initiated coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, April 11th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $975.00 price objective on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $935.00 to $995.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,024.03.

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.

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