Contravisory Investment Management Inc. Sells 251 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Contravisory Investment Management Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 2.3% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 10,823 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 251 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale accounts for 2.2% of Contravisory Investment Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest position. Contravisory Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $10,236,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 250.0% during the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 35 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Collier Financial purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Barrett & Company Inc. increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 59.3% in the fourth quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 43 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on COST shares. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Tuesday. Loop Capital lowered their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,110.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 29th. DA Davidson upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,035.32.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Costco Wholesale news, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $931.00, for a total transaction of $3,351,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 41,077 shares in the company, valued at $38,242,687. This represents a 8.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $981.07, for a total transaction of $3,924,280.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 43,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $43,161,193.58. This represents a 8.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 9,600 shares of company stock worth $9,140,195 in the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Costco Wholesale stock opened at $1,055.59 on Wednesday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12-month low of $793.00 and a 12-month high of $1,078.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.43. The company has a market capitalization of $468.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 61.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 1.00. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $988.73 and its 200 day moving average price is $977.58.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.04. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 32.31% and a net margin of 2.93%. The business had revenue of $63.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $62.93 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.78 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 2nd. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.36%.

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.