Cambridge Trust Co. Sells 134 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Cambridge Trust Co. lowered its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,068 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 134 shares during the period. Cambridge Trust Co.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $14,567,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Richelieu Gestion SA acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 200.0% during the 4th quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 45 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Steph & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 42.3% during the 3rd quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 74 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth approximately $49,000. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Costco Wholesale stock traded down $4.00 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $711.19. 1,018,079 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,086,959. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $730.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $659.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $315.41 billion, a PE ratio of 46.85, a P/E/G ratio of 4.77 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. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.62 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $58.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $59.11 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 28.80% and a net margin of 2.73%. Costco Wholesale’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.30 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors of record on Friday, April 26th will be issued a dividend of $1.16 per share. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 25th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $714.83, for a total value 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, 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 value of $1,043,258.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 12,395 shares in the company, valued at $8,967,534.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $714.83, for a total value of $1,072,245.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,785,786.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 10,942 shares of company stock worth $7,602,943. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on COST. Tigress Financial boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $745.00 to $870.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $800.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, April 11th. StockNews.com lowered Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $693.00 to $741.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 21st. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $760.00 to $805.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $691.28.

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.