Gould Asset Management LLC CA Sells 70 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Gould Asset Management LLC CA lessened its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 4.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,637 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 70 shares during the period. Gould Asset Management LLC CA’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,081,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in COST. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 63.8% in the third quarter. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC now owns 113 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $64,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the period. Strategic Blueprint LLC boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 9.8% in the third quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC now owns 3,787 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,139,000 after buying an additional 339 shares during the period. Caprock Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 19.0% in the third quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 7,684 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,341,000 after buying an additional 1,229 shares during the period. Heritage Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 5.1% in the third quarter. Heritage Wealth Partners LLC now owns 436 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $246,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the period. Finally, Liberty Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 0.5% during the third quarter. Liberty Capital Management Inc. now owns 17,307 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $9,778,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock traded down $2.03 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $721.86. The company had a trading volume of 1,612,268 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,062,339. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $730.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $664.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.43. The firm has a market cap of $320.14 billion, a PE ratio of 47.21, a P/E/G ratio of 4.81 and a beta of 0.77. Costco Wholesale Co. has a fifty-two week low of $476.75 and a fifty-two week high of $787.08.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $59.11 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.30 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 26th will be paid a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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 26.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 12,395 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,967,534.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $714.83, for a total transaction of $1,072,245.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,785,786.85. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 12,395 shares in the company, valued at $8,967,534.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 3,727 shares of company stock valued at $2,682,948. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

COST has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $610.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. StockNews.com cut Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $760.00 to $805.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $665.00 to $749.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $680.00 target price 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.com, Costco Wholesale presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $694.48.

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.