SlateStone Wealth LLC Has $8.86 Million Stock Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

SlateStone Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,415 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 91 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale makes up approximately 1.1% of SlateStone Wealth LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest position. SlateStone Wealth LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $8,855,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Richelieu Gestion SA bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 200.0% in the fourth quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 45 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Steph & Co. raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 42.3% in the third quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 74 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the period. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at $49,000. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 0.4 %

Costco Wholesale stock opened at $720.06 on Wednesday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52 week low of $476.75 and a 52 week high of $787.08. The firm has a market cap of $319.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.76 and a beta of 0.77. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $730.32 and its 200 day moving average price is $664.04. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.62 by $0.09. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.73% and a return on equity of 28.80%. The business had revenue of $58.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $59.11 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.30 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 26th will be issued a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.64%. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 25th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.68%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $723.48, for a total transaction of $1,043,258.16. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 12,395 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,967,534.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $714.83, for a total transaction of $1,072,245.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,695 shares in the company, valued at $4,785,786.85. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $723.48, for a total transaction of $1,043,258.16. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 12,395 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,967,534.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 3,727 shares of company stock worth $2,682,948 over the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

COST has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Tigress Financial increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $745.00 to $870.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $795.00 to $805.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $610.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $665.00 to $749.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $630.00 to $710.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $694.48.

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.