Wright Investors Service Inc. Has $3.74 Million Stock Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Wright Investors Service Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 23.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,658 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 1,690 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale comprises approximately 1.1% of Wright Investors Service Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 29th largest holding. Wright Investors Service Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $3,735,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 28,855 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $16,302,000 after purchasing an additional 273 shares during the last quarter. Keating Investment Counselors Inc. raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 43.0% during the third quarter. Keating Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 2,643 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,493,000 after purchasing an additional 795 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 28.9% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 272,288 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $179,822,000 after purchasing an additional 61,122 shares during the last quarter. Rice Partnership LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 21.0% in the 3rd quarter. Rice Partnership LLC now owns 11,741 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $6,633,000 after purchasing an additional 2,038 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rappaport Reiches Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 23.5% in the 4th quarter. Rappaport Reiches Capital Management LLC now owns 814 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $538,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on COST shares. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $760.00 to $805.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $693.00 to $741.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 21st. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $800.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Roth Mkm boosted 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, StockNews.com lowered shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $691.28.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director W Craig Jelinek sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $685.93, for a total value of $5,487,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 216,212 shares in the company, valued at approximately $148,306,297.16. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related 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 transaction of $1,043,258.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 12,395 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,967,534.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director W Craig Jelinek sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $685.93, for a total transaction of $5,487,440.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 216,212 shares in the company, valued at approximately $148,306,297.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 10,942 shares of company stock valued at $7,602,943. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.1 %

COST stock traded up $0.56 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $715.75. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 618,060 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,081,177. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $730.83 and its 200-day simple moving average is $659.23. The stock has a market cap of $317.44 billion, a PE ratio of 46.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.77 and a beta of 0.77. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52 week low of $476.75 and a 52 week high of $787.08. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.62 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $58.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $59.11 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 28.80% and a net margin of 2.73%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.30 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.84 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 26th will be given a $1.16 dividend. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 25th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.65%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.68%.

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.