KCM Investment Advisors LLC Lowers Stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

KCM Investment Advisors LLC lessened its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 119,830 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 1,703 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale accounts for 3.8% of KCM Investment Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest position. KCM Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $109,797,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in COST. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at $154,371,000. Pioneer Trust Bank N A OR grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 24.7% in the fourth quarter. Pioneer Trust Bank N A OR now owns 2,019 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,850,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Kidder Stephen W grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 11.6% in the fourth quarter. Kidder Stephen W now owns 269 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $246,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Leeward Financial Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 217.6% during the 4th quarter. Leeward Financial Partners LLC now owns 4,951 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,537,000 after purchasing an additional 3,392 shares during the period. Finally, Smith Moore & CO. lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 17.2% during the 4th quarter. Smith Moore & CO. now owns 1,338 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,226,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock opened at $916.48 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $406.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.82. Costco Wholesale Co. has a one year low of $702.00 and a one year high of $1,078.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.43. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $988.70 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $947.67.

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). The firm had revenue of $63.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $63.02 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 32.31%. Analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. 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 27.09%.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Gary Millerchip sold 1,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $940.01, for a total transaction of $1,034,011.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 11,165 shares in the company, valued at $10,495,211.65. This represents a 8.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of Costco Wholesale 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 41,077 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,242,687. This trade represents a 8.06 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 5,600 shares of company stock worth $5,215,915. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on COST. Barclays upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Roth Mkm upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $755.00 to $907.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Raymond James increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $990.00 to $1,030.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,029.00.

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.