Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) is Haverford Financial Services Inc.’s 6th Largest Position

Haverford Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 17,089 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale accounts for 4.8% of Haverford Financial Services Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 6th largest position. Haverford Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $15,658,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at $8,430,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 15.0% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,662 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,020,000 after buying an additional 1,001 shares during the period. Dale Q Rice Investment Management Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at $984,000. Stanich Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at $214,000. Finally, Everence Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 15.4% in the 4th quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. now owns 11,913 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $10,916,000 after buying an additional 1,590 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 41,077 shares in the company, 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 is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of COST stock opened at $909.26 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12-month low of $697.27 and a 12-month high of $1,078.24. The company has a market cap of $403.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.82. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $987.55 and a 200-day simple moving average of $945.06.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its 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). The company had revenue of $63.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $63.02 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 32.31% and a net margin of 2.93%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were given a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.51%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is currently 27.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on COST shares. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $1,100.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, March 7th. UBS Group upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $840.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $1,075.00 price target (up previously from $980.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,029.00.

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.