Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) is Chesley Taft & Associates LLC’s 4th Largest Position

Chesley Taft & Associates LLC lowered its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.4% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 68,488 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 963 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale comprises approximately 3.1% of Chesley Taft & Associates LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $64,775,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

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

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 0.4%

NASDAQ:COST opened at $1,051.69 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $466.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 61.76, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.98. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1 year low of $793.00 and a 1 year high of $1,078.24. The business has a fifty day moving average of $991.17 and a 200-day moving average of $978.09.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.04. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 32.31%. The firm had revenue of $63.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $62.93 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.78 EPS. Costco Wholesale’s revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on COST. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,070.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Mizuho started coverage on Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, April 11th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $975.00 price target for the company. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $1,100.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Tuesday. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,225.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,035.32.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In related news, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 41,077 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $38,242,687. This represents a 8.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $922.56, for a total transaction of $830,304.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,987 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,445,926.72. The trade was a 11.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 9,600 shares of company stock valued at $9,140,195 over the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.