SlateStone Wealth LLC Sells 109 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

SlateStone Wealth LLC reduced its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,074 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 109 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale accounts for approximately 1.2% of SlateStone Wealth LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest holding. SlateStone Wealth LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $11,979,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of COST. Swedbank AB grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.5% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 443,747 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $393,391,000 after buying an additional 6,495 shares during the last quarter. United Bank grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 7.5% in 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 last quarter. Curi RMB Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 47.9% in the third quarter. Curi RMB Capital LLC now owns 2,721 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,412,000 after purchasing an additional 881 shares during the last quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.3% in the third quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 1,132 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,004,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Coastline Trust Co grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3.7% in the third quarter. Coastline Trust Co now owns 9,022 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,998,000 after purchasing an additional 324 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of COST opened at $903.92 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $401.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $989.80 and a 200 day moving average of $944.47. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $63.72 billion for 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, equities research analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were given a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.09%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Costco Wholesale news, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $931.00, for a total value of $3,351,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 41,077 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $38,242,687. The trade was a 8.06 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on COST shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Barclays raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on 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. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $840.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,030.43.

Costco Wholesale Company 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.