Sterling Investment Counsel LLC Buys 676 Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Sterling Investment Counsel LLC raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 49.4% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 2,044 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 676 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale makes up 0.7% of Sterling Investment Counsel LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest position. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,934,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 250.0% during the 4th quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 35 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 22.2% during the 4th quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 55 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital A Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at about $58,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Costco Wholesale stock opened at $974.90 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $1,002.39 and its 200-day moving average price is $981.12. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The company has a market cap of $432.35 billion, a PE ratio of 55.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.77 and a beta of 1.00. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a twelve month low of $793.00 and a twelve month high of $1,078.24.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $63.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $62.93 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.48% and a net margin of 2.92%. Costco Wholesale’s revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.78 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 2nd were given a $1.30 dividend. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 2nd. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is 29.50%.

Insider Activity

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Patrick J. Callans sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,002.77, for a total value of $3,008,310.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 58,543 shares in the company, valued at $58,705,164.11. This trade represents a 4.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,014.15, for a total value of $2,028,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 8,210 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,326,171.50. The trade was a 19.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 11,000 shares of company stock valued at $10,825,205. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,060.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $1,100.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. Finally, Loop Capital lowered their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,110.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,034.79.

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.