Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Sold by Blodgett Wealth Advisors LLC

Blodgett Wealth Advisors LLC lessened its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 2.3% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 4,073 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 95 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale makes up about 2.7% of Blodgett Wealth Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Blodgett Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $2,689,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in COST. Howard Financial Services LTD. lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. now owns 870 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $574,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. First National Corp MA ADV lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 0.5% during the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Morton Capital Management LLC CA lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Morton Capital Management LLC CA now owns 1,564 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,032,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Insight Advisors LLC PA raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Insight Advisors LLC PA now owns 2,736 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,807,000 after buying an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Optas LLC raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Optas LLC now owns 2,383 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,573,000 after buying an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $723.48, for a total value of $1,043,258.16. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related 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 transaction of $567,445.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,228,600. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 12,395 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,967,534.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 3,727 shares of company stock valued at $2,682,948 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 1.0 %

Costco Wholesale stock traded up $7.32 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $729.18. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,524,431 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,663,722. The company has a market capitalization of $323.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.81 and a beta of 0.77. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12 month low of $476.75 and a 12 month high of $787.08. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $730.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $666.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.93.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.62 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $58.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $59.11 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.73% and a return on equity of 28.80%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.30 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 26th will be given a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 25th. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.35%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $680.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $800.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Roth Mkm upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $601.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $795.00 to $805.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $694.48.

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.