Washington Trust Advisors Inc. Has $496,000 Stock Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Washington Trust Advisors Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 29.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 751 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 314 shares during the period. Washington Trust Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $496,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Richelieu Gestion SA acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Steph & Co. increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 42.3% during the third quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 74 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the period. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth about $49,000. Finally, Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 888.9% in the third quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 89 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

COST stock traded down $1.84 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $730.24. The company had a trading volume of 636,572 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,140,979. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12 month low of $476.75 and a 12 month high of $787.08. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $723.33 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $641.98. The firm has a market cap of $323.86 billion, a PE ratio of 47.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.07 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.93.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.62 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $58.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $59.11 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 28.80% and a net margin of 2.73%. Costco Wholesale’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.30 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 2nd were issued a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 1st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.68%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $662.30, for a total value of $927,220.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,220,540.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Costco Wholesale news, VP Yoram Rubanenko sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $680.33, for a total value of $1,700,825.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 5,910 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,020,750.30. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,400 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $662.30, for a total transaction of $927,220.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 13,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,220,540.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 15,582 shares of company stock worth $10,736,778 over the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. DA Davidson raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $570.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 15th. Northcoast Research downgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $620.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, December 20th. Tigress Financial increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $745.00 to $870.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $612.00 to $700.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 15th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $615.00 to $675.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 15th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $668.50.

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.