Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. Cuts Stock Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. lessened its position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 2.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,495 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 100 shares during the quarter. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $2,307,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of COST. Richelieu Gestion SA purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 200.0% during the 4th quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 45 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Steph & Co. boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 42.3% during the 3rd quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 74 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at about $49,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $795.00 to $805.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Gordon Haskett cut Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to an “accumulate” rating and set a $775.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $665.00 to $749.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Loop Capital cut their target price on Costco Wholesale from $830.00 to $820.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $760.00 to $805.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $694.48.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the business’s 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $7,228,600. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 12,395 shares in the company, valued at $8,967,534.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $722.86, for a total value of $567,445.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,228,600. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 3,727 shares of company stock valued at $2,682,948 over the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 1.0 %

NASDAQ:COST traded down $7.11 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $722.07. The company had a trading volume of 355,622 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,034,345. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $730.41 and a 200-day simple moving average of $667.48. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1 year low of $476.75 and a 1 year high of $787.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $320.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.22, a PEG ratio of 4.86 and a beta of 0.77.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.62 by $0.09. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 28.80% and a net margin of 2.73%. The business had revenue of $58.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $59.11 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.30 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors of record on Friday, April 26th will be issued a $1.16 dividend. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 25th. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is currently 30.35%.

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.