Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC Trims Stock Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 14,111 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 48 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale comprises about 1.5% of Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest holding. Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $10,338,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of COST. Richelieu Gestion SA purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Vima LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

COST has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $905.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, June 6th. Telsey Advisory Group upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 6th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $700.00 to $765.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Loop Capital increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $890.00 to $940.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 14th. Finally, Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $676.00 price target (up from $650.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $756.85.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

NASDAQ:COST opened at $849.99 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $376.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.66, a P/E/G ratio of 5.62 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52 week low of $524.63 and a 52 week high of $873.96. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $801.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $739.95.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 30th. The retailer reported $3.78 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.70 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $58.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $58.16 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.83% and a return on equity of 30.02%. Costco Wholesale’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.43 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.96 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 26th were given a $1.16 dividend. 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. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.55%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is presently 28.75%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $722.86, for a total value of $567,445.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,228,600. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.