Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Position Trimmed by WD Rutherford LLC

WD Rutherford LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,277 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 99 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale makes up 3.0% of WD Rutherford LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest holding. WD Rutherford LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $5,039,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,134,947 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,901,040,000 after buying an additional 210,586 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 61,693.5% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,105,124 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,049,630,000 after buying an additional 3,100,099 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,689,514 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,519,468,000 after buying an additional 24,274 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,580,649 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,457,964,000 after buying an additional 28,259 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 18.3% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,088,673 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,180,016,000 after buying an additional 323,346 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 1.0 %

NASDAQ:COST opened at $729.18 on Friday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1-year low of $476.75 and a 1-year high of $787.08. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $730.41 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $666.04. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $323.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.69, a PEG ratio of 4.81 and a beta of 0.77.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.62 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $58.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $59.11 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 28.80% and a net margin of 2.73%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.30 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 26th will be given a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 25th. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.64%. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.35%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $665.00 to $749.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Tigress Financial upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $745.00 to $870.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $680.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $795.00 to $805.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Roth Mkm upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $601.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $694.48.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $723.48, for a total transaction of $1,043,258.16. Following the sale, the director now owns 12,395 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,967,534.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $723.48, for a total value of $1,043,258.16. Following the sale, the director now owns 12,395 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,967,534.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were 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 approximately $7,228,600. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 3,727 shares of company stock valued at $2,682,948 over the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.