Cherrydale Wealth Management LLC Lowers Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Cherrydale Wealth Management LLC reduced its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 16.5% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 298 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 59 shares during the period. Cherrydale Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $282,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Cromwell Holdings LLC increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 1,144 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,048,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. 44 Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. 44 Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,488 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,196,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. SRN Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. SRN Advisors LLC now owns 3,081 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,823,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the period. Miramar Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Clear Investment Research LLC raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 22.2% during the 4th quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 55 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.4%

Costco Wholesale stock opened at $1,014.94 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $450.31 billion, a PE ratio of 59.60, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 fifty-two week low of $793.00 and a fifty-two week high of $1,078.24. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $993.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $979.81.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.04. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 32.31% and a net margin of 2.93%. The business had revenue of $63.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $62.93 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.78 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 2nd. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.51%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is 29.50%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,070.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,100.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, March 7th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,035.32.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Gary Millerchip sold 1,100 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 11,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,495,211.65. This represents a 8.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,987 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,445,926.72. This trade represents a 11.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 9,600 shares of company stock valued at $9,140,195. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.