Haverford Trust Co Has $278.64 Million Stock Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Haverford Trust Co decreased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 0.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 304,098 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 1,097 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale comprises approximately 2.8% of Haverford Trust Co's investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Haverford Trust Co owned about 0.07% of Costco Wholesale worth $278,636,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth about $8,430,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 15.0% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,662 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $7,020,000 after purchasing an additional 1,001 shares during the period. Dale Q Rice Investment Management Ltd bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $984,000. Stanich Group LLC acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth $214,000. Finally, Everence Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 15.4% during the fourth quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. now owns 11,913 shares of the retailer's stock worth $10,916,000 after purchasing an additional 1,590 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $931.00, for a total transaction of $3,351,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 41,077 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $38,242,687. The trade was a 8.06 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Gary Millerchip sold 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $940.01, for a total transaction of $1,034,011.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,165 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,495,211.65. This represents a 8.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 5,600 shares of company stock valued at $5,215,915. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

NASDAQ COST traded up $9.00 on Thursday, hitting $938.75. 1,544,850 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,825,127. The business's fifty day moving average is $988.34 and its 200 day moving average is $945.95. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52 week low of $697.27 and a 52 week high of $1,078.24. The company has a market capitalization of $416.51 billion, a PE ratio of 55.12, a P/E/G ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.43.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last issued its 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $63.02 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 32.31%. Research analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.49%. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio is currently 27.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on COST shares. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, March 7th. Loop Capital cut their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,135.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 7th. UBS Group increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $840.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $1,060.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,029.00.

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.