M&R Capital Management Inc. Sells 621 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

M&R Capital Management Inc. lessened its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 8.6% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 6,575 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 621 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale makes up about 1.2% of M&R Capital Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position. M&R Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $4,817,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Modus Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 8.0% in the 1st quarter. Modus Advisors LLC now owns 1,248 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $914,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the period. General Partner Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 16.3% in the 1st quarter. General Partner Inc. now owns 2,401 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,759,000 after purchasing an additional 336 shares during the period. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 11.7% in the 4th quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,910 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,921,000 after purchasing an additional 305 shares during the period. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth approximately $12,398,000. Finally, Fairman Group LLC purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth approximately $243,000. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on COST. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $777.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $700.00 to $765.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. Tigress Financial increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $745.00 to $870.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $750.00 to $775.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. Finally, Roth Mkm reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $676.00 target price (up from $650.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, May 31st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $751.85.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of COST opened at $870.75 on Wednesday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52-week low of $516.54 and a 52-week high of $873.96. The company has a market cap of $386.03 billion, a PE ratio of 53.95, a P/E/G ratio of 5.74 and a beta of 0.79. The business has a fifty day moving average of $780.22 and a 200 day moving average of $727.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 30th. The retailer reported $3.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.70 by $0.08. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.02% and a net margin of 2.83%. The business had revenue of $58.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $58.16 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.43 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.96 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 26th were given a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.53%. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 25th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.75%.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $7,228,600. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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.