Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Sold by Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc.

Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,290 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 46 shares during the quarter. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $3,492,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Strategic Investment Advisors MI boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 8.3% in the third quarter. Strategic Investment Advisors MI now owns 1,191 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $673,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. SevenBridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the third quarter valued at $262,000. Jacobsen Capital Management boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 16.0% in the third quarter. Jacobsen Capital Management now owns 528 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $298,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Northstar Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.1% in the third quarter. Northstar Asset Management LLC now owns 2,650 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,497,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pachira Investments Inc. boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 2.6% in the third quarter. Pachira Investments Inc. now owns 1,107 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $625,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 1.6 %

Costco Wholesale stock traded up $11.46 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $743.90. The stock had a trading volume of 2,323,300 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,605,560. 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 stock has a market cap of $329.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.65, a P/E/G ratio of 4.88 and a beta of 0.77. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12 month low of $476.75 and a 12 month high of $787.08. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $730.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $671.71.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 during 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%. Costco Wholesale’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.30 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.84 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 26th will be issued a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 25th. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.62%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is 30.35%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

COST has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Gordon Haskett cut Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to an “accumulate” rating and set a $775.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $800.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and set a $680.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $795.00 to $805.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Loop Capital reduced their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $830.00 to $820.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $694.48.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of the company’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 of the company’s stock, valued at $8,967,534.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of the company’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 of the company’s stock, valued at $8,967,534.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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 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 $4,785,786.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 3,727 shares of company stock valued at $2,682,948. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by 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.