Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) is Kesler Norman & Wride LLC’s 5th Largest Position

Kesler Norman & Wride LLC trimmed its position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 11.2% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 13,774 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 1,730 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale makes up 2.1% of Kesler Norman & Wride LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $10,093,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. KPP Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the third quarter worth $398,000. Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 6.9% during the 3rd quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 491,521 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $277,690,000 after buying an additional 31,633 shares during the period. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 7.4% in the 3rd quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 200,761 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $113,415,000 after buying an additional 13,883 shares during the last quarter. Hall Private Wealth Advisors grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 5.5% in the third quarter. Hall Private Wealth Advisors now owns 16,589 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $9,372,000 after acquiring an additional 863 shares during the period. Finally, Old North State Trust LLC increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 2.6% during the third quarter. Old North State Trust LLC now owns 2,080 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,175,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of COST stock traded up $6.07 on Friday, reaching $868.73. 204,809 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,944,107. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $812.88 and its 200 day simple moving average is $745.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $385.13 billion, a PE ratio of 53.45, a P/E/G ratio of 5.70 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. 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 quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 30th. The retailer reported $3.78 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $58.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $58.16 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.43 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.98 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 26th were issued a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 25th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.53%. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is currently 28.75%.

Insider Activity

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on COST shares. StockNews.com raised Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, June 2nd. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $905.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 6th. Roth Mkm reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $676.00 price target (up from $650.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Tigress Financial upped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $870.00 to $975.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. Finally, Argus lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $805.00 to $900.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 28th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $758.70.

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.