Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Sold by Van Leeuwen & Company LLC

Van Leeuwen & Company LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 31.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,757 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 1,257 shares during the period. Van Leeuwen & Company LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,820,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 28,855 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $16,302,000 after buying an additional 273 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 28.9% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 272,288 shares of the retailer's stock worth $179,822,000 after acquiring an additional 61,122 shares in the last quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 15.6% in the fourth quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 21,514 shares of the retailer's stock worth $14,201,000 after purchasing an additional 2,909 shares during the period. Rice Partnership LLC boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 21.0% in the 3rd quarter. Rice Partnership LLC now owns 11,741 shares of the retailer's stock worth $6,633,000 after purchasing an additional 2,038 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rappaport Reiches Capital Management LLC increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 23.5% during the 4th quarter. Rappaport Reiches Capital Management LLC now owns 814 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $538,000 after buying an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $714.83, for a total value of $1,072,245.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,695 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,785,786.85. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $714.83, for a total transaction of $1,072,245.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,695 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,785,786.85. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $722.86, for a total value of $567,445.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $7,228,600. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on COST shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $665.00 to $749.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $760.00 to $805.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Tigress Financial upped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $745.00 to $870.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $800.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Monday. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Costco Wholesale from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $694.48.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

NASDAQ:COST traded up $8.15 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $787.19. 1,651,904 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,659,794. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $732.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $677.29. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. Costco Wholesale Co. has a one year low of $476.75 and a one year high of $787.45. The firm has a market cap of $349.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.04 and a beta of 0.77.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.62 by $0.09. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.73% and a return on equity of 28.80%. The company had revenue of $58.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $59.11 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.30 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors of record on Friday, April 26th will be paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 25th. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.59%. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is 30.35%.

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.