Cutler Investment Counsel LLC Grows Stock Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Cutler Investment Counsel LLC increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,681 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 19 shares during the period. Cutler Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,770,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Richelieu Gestion SA purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC lifted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Steph & Co. lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 42.3% in the 3rd quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 74 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at about $49,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related 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 directly owns 12,395 shares in the company, valued at $8,967,534.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, Director W Craig Jelinek sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $685.93, for a total transaction of $5,487,440.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 216,212 shares in the company, valued at $148,306,297.16. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, 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 value of $1,043,258.16. Following the transaction, the director now owns 12,395 shares in the company, valued at $8,967,534.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 11,727 shares of company stock worth $8,170,388. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on COST. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $800.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Gordon Haskett lowered shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to an “accumulate” rating and set a $775.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $693.00 to $741.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 21st. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $680.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $691.28.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock traded down $4.58 on Friday, hitting $706.67. 1,176,778 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,085,476. The stock has a market cap of $313.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.30, a PEG ratio of 4.76 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $730.57 and its 200 day moving average is $659.59. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52-week low of $476.75 and a 52-week high of $787.08.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 return on equity of 28.80% and a net margin of 2.73%. The business’s revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.30 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The firm 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. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 25th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio 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.