Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Stock Holdings Lessened by Arlington Financial Advisors LLC

Arlington Financial Advisors LLC trimmed its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 4.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 10,133 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 500 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale accounts for 1.6% of Arlington Financial Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Arlington Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $7,424,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Enterprise Financial Services Corp increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Enterprise Financial Services Corp now owns 892 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $589,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Hoxton Planning & Management LLC increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.9% during the first quarter. Hoxton Planning & Management LLC now owns 1,535 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,125,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. increased its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. now owns 870 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $574,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First National Corp MA ADV increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. First National Corp MA ADV now owns 3,098 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,045,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $722.86, for a total value of $567,445.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,228,600. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

NASDAQ COST opened at $849.99 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $801.95 and a 200-day moving average of $740.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.94. The stock has a market cap of $376.83 billion, a PE ratio of 52.66, a P/E/G ratio of 5.63 and a beta of 0.78. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52-week low of $524.63 and a 52-week high of $873.96.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted 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. The company had revenue of $58.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $58.16 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.83% and a return on equity of 30.02%. Costco Wholesale’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.43 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.96 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 26th were paid a $1.16 dividend. This is a boost 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 yield of 0.55%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 28.75%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

COST has been the subject of several research reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, June 2nd. Telsey Advisory Group raised their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $900.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 6th. Tigress Financial raised their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $870.00 to $975.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $680.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Loop Capital raised their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $890.00 to $940.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 14th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $756.85.

Costco Wholesale Company 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.