Boston Common Asset Management LLC Sells 254 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Boston Common Asset Management LLC decreased its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 14,164 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 254 shares during the period. Boston Common Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $13,396,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in COST. Lederer & Associates Investment Counsel CA increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.6% in the first quarter. Lederer & Associates Investment Counsel CA now owns 2,065 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,953,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Waller Financial Planning Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the first quarter worth about $281,000. Kera Capital Partners Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the first quarter worth about $220,000. Marcum Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 7.6% in the first quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC now owns 887 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $839,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Global Wealth Strategies & Associates increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 25.8% in the first quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 366 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $346,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on COST. Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, March 7th. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Cfra Research raised shares of Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,028.46.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 0.5%

NASDAQ:COST opened at $1,013.14 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $979.82 and a 200 day moving average of $974.01. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52 week low of $788.20 and a 52 week high of $1,078.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $449.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 59.49, a P/E/G ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 1.00.

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

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 2nd. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is presently 30.36%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $931.00, for a total transaction of $3,351,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 41,077 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $38,242,687. The trade was a 8.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $981.07, for a total transaction of $3,924,280.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 43,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,161,193.58. The trade was a 8.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 9,600 shares of company stock valued at $9,140,195. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.