Herold Advisors Inc. Sells 200 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Herold Advisors Inc. lowered its position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 11.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,507 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 200 shares during the period. Herold Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $995,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In related news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 12,395 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,967,534.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $722.86, for a total transaction of $567,445.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $7,228,600. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $723.48, for a total value of $1,043,258.16. Following the sale, 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. Over the last three months, insiders sold 3,727 shares of company stock valued at $2,682,948. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

NASDAQ COST opened at $729.18 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $323.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.81 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 business has a 50-day moving average price of $730.41 and a 200-day moving average price of $666.04. Costco Wholesale Co. has a twelve month low of $476.75 and a twelve month high of $787.08.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $58.44 billion during 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 business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.30 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors of record on Friday, April 26th will be paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 25th. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.64%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.35%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on COST shares. StockNews.com cut Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $680.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Tigress Financial boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $745.00 to $870.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $665.00 to $749.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, Gordon Haskett lowered Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to an “accumulate” rating and set a $775.00 price target for the company. in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $694.48.

Costco Wholesale Company 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.