Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC Cuts Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.3% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 14,111 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 48 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale comprises about 1.5% of Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest position. Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $10,338,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in COST. Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 0.3% during the first quarter. Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. now owns 4,472 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,276,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Griffin Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3.7% during the 1st quarter. Griffin Asset Management Inc. now owns 8,697 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $6,372,000 after buying an additional 308 shares during the last quarter. Opinicus Capital Inc. boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Opinicus Capital Inc. now owns 1,815 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,330,000 after buying an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC now owns 14,313 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $10,486,000 after acquiring an additional 467 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Dallas Securities Inc. increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. First Dallas Securities Inc. now owns 3,211 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,352,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

COST has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $750.00 to $775.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $676.00 target price (up previously from $650.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $860.00 to $890.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 20th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $710.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Finally, Tigress Financial lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $870.00 to $975.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $756.85.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,228,600. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:COST opened at $849.99 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $801.95 and a two-hundred day moving average of $739.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $376.83 billion, a PE ratio of 52.66, a P/E/G ratio of 5.62 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. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12 month low of $524.63 and a 12 month high of $873.96.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 30th. The retailer reported $3.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analysts’ expectations of $58.16 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.43 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 26th were given a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 25th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.55%. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.75%.

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.