Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA Sells 859 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA reduced its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 254,747 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 859 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale makes up approximately 1.8% of Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest position. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA owned approximately 0.06% of Costco Wholesale worth $177,019,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of COST. Richelieu Gestion SA purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 200.0% in the 4th quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 45 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Steph & Co. increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 42.3% in the 3rd quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 74 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth $49,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.8 %

NASDAQ COST traded up $5.95 during trading on Monday, hitting $715.46. The stock had a trading volume of 1,435,766 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,089,802. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $317.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.79, a P/E/G ratio of 4.73 and a beta of 0.77. Costco Wholesale Co. has a one year low of $476.75 and a one year high of $787.08. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $730.16 and a 200 day simple moving average of $662.88.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.62 by $0.09. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.73% and a return on equity of 28.80%. The firm had revenue of $58.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $59.11 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.30 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.84 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 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 26th will be paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.65%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 25th. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is currently 26.68%.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In related news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $723.48, for a total transaction of $1,043,258.16. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 12,395 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,967,534.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Costco Wholesale news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $723.48, for a total value of $1,043,258.16. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 12,395 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,967,534.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director W Craig Jelinek sold 8,000 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $685.93, for a total transaction of $5,487,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 216,212 shares in the company, valued at $148,306,297.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 11,727 shares of company stock valued at $8,170,388 over the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on COST. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $800.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note 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. Loop Capital cut their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $830.00 to $820.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Roth Mkm raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $601.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $760.00 to $805.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $691.28.

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.