Alan B Lancz & Associates Inc. Sells 25 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Alan B Lancz & Associates Inc. lowered its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,069 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 25 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale accounts for 4.2% of Alan B Lancz & Associates Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Alan B Lancz & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $4,006,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Strategic Investment Advisors MI grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 8.3% during the 3rd quarter. Strategic Investment Advisors MI now owns 1,191 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $673,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the period. SevenBridge Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the third quarter valued at about $262,000. Jacobsen Capital Management lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 16.0% in the third quarter. Jacobsen Capital Management now owns 528 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $298,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the period. Northstar Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.1% during the third quarter. Northstar Asset Management LLC now owns 2,650 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,497,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pachira Investments Inc. grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Pachira Investments Inc. now owns 1,107 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $625,000 after buying an additional 28 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 1.6 %

COST stock traded up $11.46 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $743.90. The company had a trading volume of 2,323,300 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,605,560. The company has a market capitalization of $329.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.65, a PEG ratio of 4.88 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 stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $730.46 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $671.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.43.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its 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 business had revenue of $58.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $59.11 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.30 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. 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 company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 26th will be issued a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.62%. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 25th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.35%.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

COST has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $610.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $800.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $795.00 to $805.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $630.00 to $710.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, Loop Capital decreased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $830.00 to $820.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Seven equities 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 currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $694.48.

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.