Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE Reduces Stock Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE decreased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,481 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 28 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale makes up approximately 0.4% of Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest position. Ritter Daniher Financial Advisory LLC DE’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,357,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at about $8,430,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 15.0% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,662 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,020,000 after acquiring an additional 1,001 shares during the last quarter. Dale Q Rice Investment Management Ltd bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth approximately $984,000. Stanich Group LLC purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $214,000. Finally, Everence Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 15.4% in the 4th quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. now owns 11,913 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $10,916,000 after purchasing an additional 1,590 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 5.2 %

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock opened at $916.48 on Friday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52-week low of $702.00 and a 52-week high of $1,078.24. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $988.70 and its 200-day moving average price is $948.02. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The company has a market cap of $406.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.82, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.95.

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

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.51%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 27.09%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Gary Millerchip sold 1,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 11,165 shares in the company, valued at $10,495,211.65. This represents a 8.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale 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 that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $922.56, for a total transaction of $830,304.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,987 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,445,926.72. This represents a 11.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 5,600 shares of company stock worth $5,215,915 over the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on COST. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. DA Davidson raised their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Raymond James raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $990.00 to $1,030.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Loop Capital dropped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,135.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 7th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,029.00.

Costco Wholesale Company 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.