Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) is Kesler Norman & Wride LLC’s 4th Largest Position

Kesler Norman & Wride LLC decreased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 8.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 10,993 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 1,068 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale accounts for approximately 2.2% of Kesler Norman & Wride LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $10,074,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of COST. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,201,610 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $38,668,069,000 after purchasing an additional 455,043 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,739,175 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $8,901,249,000 after purchasing an additional 252,118 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth about $5,182,316,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 3,077,905 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,820,193,000 after buying an additional 43,414 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,899,904 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,657,095,000 after buying an additional 91,649 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of COST opened at $954.40 on Wednesday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52-week low of $697.27 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 cap of $423.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.04, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.82. The business’s 50 day moving average is $988.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $947.35.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.09 by ($0.07). The company 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 fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.49%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $38,242,687. This trade represents a 8.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Gary Millerchip sold 1,100 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 11,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,495,211.65. This represents a 8.97 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 5,600 shares of company stock worth $5,215,915. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,150.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,035.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Raymond James upped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $990.00 to $1,030.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, March 7th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.