Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Sold by Schwarz Dygos Wheeler Investment Advisors LLC

Schwarz Dygos Wheeler Investment Advisors LLC lowered its position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 8.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,727 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 538 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale accounts for 1.2% of Schwarz Dygos Wheeler Investment Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest position. Schwarz Dygos Wheeler Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $3,780,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Richelieu Gestion SA acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 200.0% during the fourth quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 45 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Steph & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 42.3% during the third quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 74 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth about $49,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The stock was 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 directly owns 12,395 shares in the company, valued at $8,967,534.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $714.83, for a total value of $1,072,245.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,695 shares in the company, valued at $4,785,786.85. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $723.48, for a total value of $1,043,258.16. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 12,395 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,967,534.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 3,727 shares of company stock worth $2,682,948. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

COST has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Gordon Haskett cut Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to an “accumulate” rating and set a $775.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. StockNews.com lowered Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $760.00 to $805.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Roth Mkm lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $601.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $800.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $694.48.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:COST traded up $7.32 during trading on Friday, hitting $729.18. 1,524,431 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,663,722. The stock has a market capitalization of $323.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.69, a PEG ratio of 4.81 and a beta of 0.77. The business’s fifty day moving average is $730.41 and its 200-day moving average is $666.04. Costco Wholesale Co. has a one year low of $476.75 and a one year 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.62 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $58.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $59.11 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 28.80% and a net margin of 2.73%. The business’s revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.30 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 26th will be given a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 25th. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.64%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is currently 30.35%.

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.