Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc. Sells 144 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc. decreased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 5.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,614 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 144 shares during the quarter. Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $2,395,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Cromwell Holdings LLC lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 1,144 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,048,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the period. 44 Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. 44 Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,488 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,196,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the period. SRN Advisors LLC lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. SRN Advisors LLC now owns 3,081 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,823,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the period. Miramar Capital LLC lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Miramar Capital LLC now owns 525 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $481,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the period. Finally, Sculati Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.3% in the third quarter. Sculati Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,649 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,235,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

COST has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $1,060.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Roth Mkm raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $755.00 to $907.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. DA Davidson raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Loop Capital reduced their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,135.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,030.43.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

NASDAQ:COST opened at $904.05 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $988.75 and a 200-day moving average of $944.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $401.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.09, a P/E/G ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. Costco Wholesale Co. has a twelve month low of $697.27 and a twelve month high of $1,078.24.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.09 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $63.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $63.02 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 32.31%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.51%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 owns 41,077 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,242,687. The trade was a 8.06 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.