Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management Sells 383 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management lessened its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 27,537 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 383 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale makes up approximately 0.6% of Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest position. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $18,177,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Richelieu Gestion SA acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC lifted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Steph & Co. grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 42.3% in the third quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 74 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth approximately $49,000. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on COST. Loop Capital lowered their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $830.00 to $820.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $610.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $680.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. StockNews.com downgraded Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Tigress Financial upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $745.00 to $870.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $694.48.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the 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 transaction, the executive vice president now 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 the SEC website. In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $722.86, for a total value of $567,445.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,228,600. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director now directly owns 12,395 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,967,534.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 3,727 shares of company stock worth $2,682,948. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock traded up $12.55 during trading on Monday, hitting $756.45. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,772,820 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,038,013. The stock has a market cap of $335.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.95 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.43. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52 week low of $476.75 and a 52 week high of $787.08. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $730.69 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $674.43.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.62 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $58.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $59.11 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.73% and a return on equity of 28.80%. Costco Wholesale’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.30 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 26th will be paid a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 25th. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.61%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 30.35%.

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.