Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Sold by Romano Brothers AND Company

Romano Brothers AND Company cut its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,603 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 77 shares during the period. Romano Brothers AND Company’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $4,105,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in COST. Richelieu Gestion SA acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 200.0% in the 4th 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 during the period. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Vima LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $875.00 price objective (up previously from $800.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $905.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 6th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $710.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $700.00 to $765.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $815.00 to $873.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $756.85.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,228,600. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock opened at $849.99 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.45. Costco Wholesale Co. has a fifty-two week low of $524.63 and a fifty-two week high of $873.96. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $801.95 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $739.95. The company has a market cap of $376.83 billion, a PE ratio of 52.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.62 and a beta of 0.79.

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

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 26th were issued a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.55%. This is an increase 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 (DPR) is presently 28.75%.

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.