Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Sold by Kesler Norman & Wride LLC

Kesler Norman & Wride LLC decreased its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 5.4% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 15,504 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 877 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale accounts for 2.4% of Kesler Norman & Wride LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $10,234,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 60.2% during the 4th quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 22,301 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $14,630,000 after purchasing an additional 8,384 shares during the last quarter. Atlas Private Wealth Advisors increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Atlas Private Wealth Advisors now owns 2,006 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,324,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. GSG Advisors LLC grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 14.9% in the 4th quarter. GSG Advisors LLC now owns 408 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $263,000 after buying an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Marion Wealth Management grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 299.7% in the 4th quarter. Marion Wealth Management now owns 2,390 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,577,000 after buying an additional 1,792 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Falcon Wealth Planning grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 100.4% in the 4th quarter. Falcon Wealth Planning now owns 1,834 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,211,000 after buying an additional 919 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 66.31% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

COST traded up $5.91 during trading on Monday, hitting $731.54. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,593,976 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,248,562. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $716.32 and its 200-day simple moving average is $634.01. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The firm has a market cap of $324.44 billion, a PE ratio of 47.84, a P/E/G ratio of 5.08 and a beta of 0.77. Costco Wholesale Co. has a one year low of $476.75 and a one year high of $787.08.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.62 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $58.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $59.11 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.73% and a return on equity of 28.80%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.30 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 2nd were paid a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 1st. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.56%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is currently 26.68%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on COST. Loop Capital boosted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $710.00 to $755.00 in a research report on Friday, January 19th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $640.00 to $725.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 15th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 8th. Telsey Advisory Group lifted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $750.00 to $785.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, March 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $665.00 to $749.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $668.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Richard A. Galanti sold 1,112 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $680.21, for a total value of $756,393.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 24,300 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,529,103. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,695 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,785,786.85. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Richard A. Galanti sold 1,112 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $680.21, for a total transaction of $756,393.52. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 24,300 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,529,103. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 16,694 shares of company stock valued at $11,493,172 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.