Mitchell Sinkler & Starr PA Sells 665 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Mitchell Sinkler & Starr PA reduced its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 25.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,987 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 665 shares during the period. Mitchell Sinkler & Starr PA’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,821,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of COST. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 250.0% during the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 35 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Collier Financial bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Barrett & Company Inc. increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 59.3% during the fourth 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 currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $922.56, for a total value of $830,304.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,987 shares in the company, valued at $6,445,926.72. This trade represents a 11.41 % 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 Gary Millerchip sold 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $940.01, for a total transaction of $1,034,011.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 11,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,495,211.65. The trade was a 8.97 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 5,600 shares of company stock valued at $5,215,915. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock opened at $929.66 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $988.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $946.18. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The company has a market capitalization of $412.47 billion, a PE ratio of 54.59, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.82. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12 month low of $697.27 and a 12 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). Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 32.31%. The business had revenue of $63.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $63.02 billion. On average, research analysts predict 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. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.50%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 27.09%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

COST has been the topic of several recent research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, March 7th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,035.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,029.00.

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.