ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. Sells 23 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,747 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 23 shares during the period. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,813,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Richelieu Gestion SA acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Finally, Steph & Co. raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 42.3% during the third quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 74 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:COST traded down $1.74 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $709.51. 2,188,979 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,098,958. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12 month low of $476.75 and a 12 month high of $787.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $314.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.76 and a beta of 0.77. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $730.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $660.55.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company 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 posted $3.30 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. 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 business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors of record on Friday, April 26th will be paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.65%. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 25th. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is presently 26.68%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on COST. Tigress Financial increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $745.00 to $870.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $800.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. StockNews.com lowered Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $760.00 to $805.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $693.00 to $741.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 21st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $691.28.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, Director W Craig Jelinek sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $685.93, for a total value of $5,487,440.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 216,212 shares in the company, valued at approximately $148,306,297.16. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Costco Wholesale news, Director W Craig Jelinek sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $685.93, for a total value of $5,487,440.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 216,212 shares in the company, valued at approximately $148,306,297.16. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 12,395 shares in the company, valued at $8,967,534.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 11,727 shares of company stock worth $8,170,388. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Costco Wholesale Company 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.