Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Sold by BlackDiamond Wealth Management LLC

BlackDiamond Wealth Management LLC decreased its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,467 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 11 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale makes up 1.8% of BlackDiamond Wealth Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 11th biggest position. BlackDiamond Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $3,177,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of COST. Swedbank AB boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 1.5% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 443,747 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $393,391,000 after acquiring an additional 6,495 shares during the last quarter. United Bank raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 7.5% during the third quarter. United Bank now owns 5,962 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,285,000 after purchasing an additional 416 shares during the period. Aljian Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.7% during the third quarter. Aljian Capital Management LLC now owns 55,041 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $48,795,000 after purchasing an additional 921 shares during the period. Phillips Financial Management LLC raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 4.9% during the third quarter. Phillips Financial Management LLC now owns 280 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $248,000 after purchasing an additional 13 shares during the period. Finally, GLOBALT Investments LLC GA raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 2.8% during the third quarter. GLOBALT Investments LLC GA now owns 3,752 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,326,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:COST opened at $916.61 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $406.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.82, a P/E/G ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.82. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $989.68 and its 200-day moving average is $945.08. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52-week low of $697.27 and a 52-week high of $1,078.24. 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 (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 earnings per share (EPS) 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $63.02 billion. Equities research analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is 27.09%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on COST. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,000.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. 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 research note on Monday, March 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, March 7th. DA Davidson boosted 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, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,030.43.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Costco Wholesale news, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 41,077 shares in the company, valued at $38,242,687. This trade represents a 8.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.