Godshalk Welsh Capital Management Inc. Decreases Stock Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Godshalk Welsh Capital Management Inc. reduced its position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 3.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,324 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 260 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale makes up about 3.7% of Godshalk Welsh Capital Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Godshalk Welsh Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $5,795,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 250.0% during the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 35 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Collier Financial bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In related 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 41,077 shares in the company, valued at $38,242,687. The trade was a 8.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $922.56, for a total transaction of $830,304.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,987 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,445,926.72. The trade was a 11.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Barclays upped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,029.00.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

COST stock opened at $929.75 on Thursday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a twelve month low of $697.27 and a twelve month high of $1,078.24. The firm has a market cap of $412.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.59, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.82. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $987.96 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $946.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 EPS 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 company had revenue of $63.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $63.02 billion. Analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 0.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.09%.

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.