Weatherly Asset Management L. P. Has $19.71 Million Stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Weatherly Asset Management L. P. lessened its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 29,197 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 78 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale comprises about 2.1% of Weatherly Asset Management L. P.’s holdings, making the stock its 9th largest holding. Weatherly Asset Management L. P.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $19,705,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,260,000. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 13.7% during the 4th quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,768 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,167,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares during the period. Lorne Steinberg Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at about $222,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 13.1% during the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,961 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,294,000 after purchasing an additional 227 shares during the period. Finally, SlateStone Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC now owns 13,415 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $8,855,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

COST has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Gordon Haskett downgraded Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to an “accumulate” rating and set a $775.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Tigress Financial increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $745.00 to $870.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $610.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. StockNews.com lowered Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $630.00 to $710.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $694.48.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

NASDAQ:COST traded up $7.22 on Tuesday, reaching $722.68. 1,174,884 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,079,065. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $730.16 and a 200-day simple moving average of $662.88. The firm has a market cap of $320.51 billion, a PE ratio of 47.21, a P/E/G ratio of 4.73 and a beta of 0.77. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12 month low of $476.75 and a 12 month high of $787.08.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.62 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $58.44 billion during 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 firm’s revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.30 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast 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. Investors of record on Friday, April 26th will be given a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 25th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.64%. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $722.86, for a total value of $567,445.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $7,228,600. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $714.83, for a total value of $1,072,245.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,785,786.85. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $722.86, for a total transaction of $567,445.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,228,600. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 3,727 shares of company stock worth $2,682,948. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.