Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Sold by Boltwood Capital Management

Boltwood Capital Management cut its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 3.0% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 777 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 24 shares during the period. Boltwood Capital Management’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $569,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 40,360,168 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $26,640,940,000 after purchasing an additional 485,051 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth about $3,628,694,000. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 4.3% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,134,947 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,901,040,000 after acquiring an additional 210,586 shares during the period. Capital World Investors increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,539,245 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,336,198,000 after acquiring an additional 132,292 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 61,693.5% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,105,124 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,049,630,000 after acquiring an additional 3,100,099 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ COST opened at $870.75 on Thursday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12-month low of $516.54 and a 12-month high of $873.96. The company has a market capitalization of $386.03 billion, a PE ratio of 53.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.76 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.45. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $783.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $728.16.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 30th. The retailer reported $3.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.70 by $0.08. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.83% and a return on equity of 30.02%. The company had revenue of $58.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $58.16 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.43 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on COST shares. Loop Capital boosted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $890.00 to $940.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 14th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $875.00 price target (up from $800.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $845.00 to $860.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Finally, Gordon Haskett lowered shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to an “accumulate” rating and set a $775.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $751.85.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $722.86, for a total transaction of $567,445.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,228,600. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 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.