Fiduciary Group LLC Sells 322 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Fiduciary Group LLC cut its position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 3.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,033 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 322 shares during the quarter. Fiduciary Group LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $5,303,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in COST. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 28,855 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $16,302,000 after buying an additional 273 shares in the last quarter. Keating Investment Counselors Inc. increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 43.0% during the 3rd quarter. Keating Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 2,643 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,493,000 after acquiring an additional 795 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 28.9% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Rice Partnership LLC boosted its holdings in 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 during the period. Finally, Rappaport Reiches Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 23.5% during 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 the SEC website. In related news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $714.83, for a total transaction of $1,072,245.00. Following 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 sale 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 firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 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 90 days, insiders sold 3,727 shares of company stock valued at $2,682,948. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

COST has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Oppenheimer upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $760.00 to $805.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. StockNews.com downgraded Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $665.00 to $749.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $610.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, Roth Mkm increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $601.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $694.48.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 1.0 %

NASDAQ COST traded up $7.32 during trading on Friday, hitting $729.18. The company had a trading volume of 1,524,431 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,663,722. The company’s fifty day moving average is $730.41 and its 200-day moving average is $666.77. The company has a market cap of $323.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.86 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. Costco Wholesale Co. has a one year low of $476.75 and a one year high of $787.08.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 analyst estimates of $59.11 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.30 earnings per share. Costco Wholesale’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

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