Financial Advisors Network Inc. Sells 89 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Financial Advisors Network Inc. cut its position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 20.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 355 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 89 shares during the quarter. Financial Advisors Network Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $234,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in COST. Richelieu Gestion SA bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 200.0% during the fourth quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 45 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at $49,000. Finally, Aspire Private Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 122.0% during the 3rd quarter. Aspire Private Capital LLC now owns 91 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on COST shares. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $810.00 to $820.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 14th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $800.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Monday, May 6th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $805.00 to $850.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $680.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $630.00 to $710.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $696.88.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

COST traded up $3.53 on Thursday, hitting $805.39. 376,625 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,962,102. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $739.71 and a two-hundred day moving average of $693.12. Costco Wholesale Co. has a twelve month low of $476.75 and a twelve month high of $806.93. The firm has a market cap of $357.19 billion, a PE ratio of 52.60, a P/E/G ratio of 5.33 and a beta of 0.77. 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 (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.62 by $0.09. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.73% and a return on equity of 28.80%. The firm had revenue of $58.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $59.11 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.30 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, 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 was paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors of record on Friday, April 26th were paid a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 25th. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.58%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.35%.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

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

About Costco Wholesale

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.