Kelly Lawrence W & Associates Inc. CA Cuts Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Kelly Lawrence W & Associates Inc. CA lessened its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 1.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 25,630 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 290 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale accounts for 5.5% of Kelly Lawrence W & Associates Inc. CA's investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Kelly Lawrence W & Associates Inc. CA's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $23,484,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in COST. Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 250.0% in the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 35 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Collier Financial purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Barrett & Company Inc. increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 59.3% during the 4th quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 43 shares of the retailer's stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

COST has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Barclays increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Loop Capital cut their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,045.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $935.00 to $995.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $1,100.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,024.03.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $931.00, for a total transaction of $3,351,600.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 41,077 shares in the company, valued at $38,242,687. This represents a 8.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $922.56, for a total value of $830,304.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,987 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,445,926.72. This represents a 11.41 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 9,600 shares of company stock valued at $9,140,195 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 0.4 %

COST stock traded down $4.13 during trading on Thursday, reaching $971.72. The stock had a trading volume of 1,341,503 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,023,751. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $969.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $954.22. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The company has a market capitalization of $431.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.01, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.95. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1-year low of $714.41 and a 1-year high of $1,078.24.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.09 by ($0.07). Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 32.31% and a net margin of 2.93%. The business had revenue of $63.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $63.02 billion. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 2nd will be paid a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 2nd. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is 30.36%.

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.