Kimelman & Baird LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Kimelman & Baird LLC lowered its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 2.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 63,621 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 1,277 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale accounts for approximately 4.6% of Kimelman & Baird LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Kimelman & Baird LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $58,294,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in COST. Cassady Schiller Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 11.2% during the 4th quarter. Cassady Schiller Wealth Management LLC now owns 228 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $209,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the period. Clearwater Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Clearwater Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,372 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,257,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the period. Cibc World Markets Corp increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 7.7% during the 4th quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp now owns 178,809 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $163,837,000 after acquiring an additional 12,722 shares during the period. Addison Capital Co increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Addison Capital Co now owns 1,114 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,021,000 after acquiring an additional 16 shares during the period. Finally, IMG Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth $234,000. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other news, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $931.00, for a total value of $3,351,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 41,077 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $38,242,687. This trade represents a 8.06 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, March 7th. UBS Group raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $840.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,000.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,030.43.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of COST opened at $903.92 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $401.25 billion, a PE ratio of 53.08, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.82. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12 month low of $697.27 and a 12 month high of $1,078.24. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $989.80 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $944.86. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.09 by ($0.07). Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 32.31% and a net margin of 2.93%. The business had revenue of $63.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $63.02 billion. On average, analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were given a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.09%.

Costco Wholesale 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.