Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Stock Position Cut by Blair William & Co. IL

Blair William & Co. IL cut its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 0.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 588,056 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 402 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale makes up 1.6% of Blair William & Co. IL's holdings, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. Blair William & Co. IL owned 0.13% of Costco Wholesale worth $538,818,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale in 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 worth $32,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Collier Financial purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock traded down $9.09 on Friday, hitting $929.66. 2,099,737 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,941,143. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12-month low of $697.27 and a 12-month high of $1,078.24. 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 cap of $412.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.59, a P/E/G ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.82. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $988.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $946.54.

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

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were given a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is currently 27.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Roth Mkm upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $755.00 to $907.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,090.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,029.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 41,077 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $38,242,687. This trade represents a 8.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Gary Millerchip sold 1,100 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $940.01, for a total value of $1,034,011.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 11,165 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,495,211.65. This represents a 8.97 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 5,600 shares of company stock valued at $5,215,915. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.