Mitchell Sinkler & Starr PA Sells 665 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Mitchell Sinkler & Starr PA lowered its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 25.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,987 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 665 shares during the period. Mitchell Sinkler & Starr PA's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,821,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Palogic Value Management L.P. purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth about $204,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth approximately $67,000. Intrust Bank NA boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Intrust Bank NA now owns 5,028 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $4,607,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Biondo Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Biondo Investment Advisors LLC now owns 15,219 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $13,945,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allstate Corp raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 3,148.1% during the fourth quarter. Allstate Corp now owns 13,155 shares of the retailer's stock worth $12,054,000 after purchasing an additional 12,750 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Loop Capital cut their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,135.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 7th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. TD Cowen upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,090.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target 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. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,029.00.

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Costco Wholesale Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ COST traded up $17.12 on Monday, reaching $946.78. 1,894,380 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,945,706. The company has a 50 day moving average of $988.07 and a 200 day moving average of $946.86. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. Costco Wholesale Co. has a fifty-two week low of $697.27 and a fifty-two week high of $1,078.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $420.07 billion, a PE ratio of 55.59, a P/E/G ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.82.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last issued 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 company had revenue of $63.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $63.02 billion. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share 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 presently 27.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Gary Millerchip sold 1,100 shares of the firm's 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 11,165 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,495,211.65. This trade represents a 8.97 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $922.56, for a total transaction of $830,304.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,987 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,445,926.72. This trade represents a 11.41 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 5,600 shares of company stock worth $5,215,915 in the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.