Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Sold by Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV

Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV cut its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,624 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 100 shares during the period. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $10,714,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Richelieu Gestion SA acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 200.0% in the fourth quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 45 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Vima LLC purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $722.86, for a total transaction of $567,445.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,228,600. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 1.0 %

NASDAQ COST opened at $862.44 on Friday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $785.79 and its 200-day simple moving average is $729.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The firm has a market cap of $382.35 billion, a PE ratio of 53.43, a P/E/G ratio of 5.76 and a beta of 0.79. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52 week low of $516.54 and a 52 week high of $873.96.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 30th. The retailer reported $3.78 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.70 by $0.08. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.83% and a return on equity of 30.02%. The company had revenue of $58.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $58.16 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.43 earnings per share. Costco Wholesale’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors of record on Friday, April 26th were given a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.54%. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 25th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.75%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Telsey Advisory Group lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $900.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 6th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, June 2nd. Loop Capital increased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $890.00 to $940.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 14th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $680.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $752.96.

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.