Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Stock Holdings Reduced by Mogy Joel R Investment Counsel Inc.

Mogy Joel R Investment Counsel Inc. lowered its position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.8% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 102,756 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 1,905 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale makes up approximately 5.1% of Mogy Joel R Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Mogy Joel R Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $67,827,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,134,947 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,901,040,000 after acquiring an additional 210,586 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 61,693.5% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,105,124 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,049,630,000 after acquiring an additional 3,100,099 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,689,514 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,519,468,000 after purchasing an additional 24,274 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,580,649 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,457,964,000 after purchasing an additional 28,259 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 18.3% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,088,673 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,180,016,000 after purchasing an additional 323,346 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

COST stock traded up $7.32 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $729.18. 1,524,431 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,663,722. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $730.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $666.04. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1-year low of $476.75 and a 1-year high of $787.08. The company has a market cap of $323.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.69, a PEG ratio of 4.81 and a beta of 0.77. 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 released its earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.62 by $0.09. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 28.80% and a net margin of 2.73%. The company had revenue of $58.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $59.11 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.30 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 25th. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.64%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is currently 30.35%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

COST has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and set a $680.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $610.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Roth Mkm increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $601.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $795.00 to $805.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $800.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $694.48.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Costco Wholesale news, 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 12,395 shares in the company, valued at $8,967,534.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director now directly owns 12,395 shares in the company, valued at $8,967,534.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $722.86, for a total value of $567,445.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $7,228,600. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 3,727 shares of company stock worth $2,682,948. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale 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.