Cutler Investment Counsel LLC Acquires 19 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Cutler Investment Counsel LLC grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,681 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the quarter. Cutler Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,770,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Richelieu Gestion SA acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 200.0% during the fourth quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 45 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the period. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Steph & Co. boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 42.3% during the third quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 74 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the period. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth about $49,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $714.83, for a total transaction of $1,072,245.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,695 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,785,786.85. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Costco Wholesale news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $723.48, for a total transaction of $1,043,258.16. Following the transaction, the director now owns 12,395 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,967,534.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $714.83, for a total value of $1,072,245.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,695 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,785,786.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 11,727 shares of company stock worth $8,170,388 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $760.00 to $805.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $665.00 to $749.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Tigress Financial increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $745.00 to $870.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Gordon Haskett cut Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to an “accumulate” rating and set a $775.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Roth Mkm increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $601.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $691.28.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ COST traded down $4.58 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $706.67. 1,176,778 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,085,476. The firm has a market capitalization of $313.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.30, a P/E/G ratio of 4.76 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.93. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52 week low of $476.75 and a 52 week high of $787.08. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $730.57 and its 200 day simple moving average is $659.59.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.62 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $58.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $59.11 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 28.80% and a net margin of 2.73%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.30 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.84 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 26th will be paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 25th. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.66%. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.68%.

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.