Laraway Financial Advisors Inc Sells 137 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Laraway Financial Advisors Inc trimmed its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 6.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,988 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 137 shares during the quarter. Laraway Financial Advisors Inc’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $988,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Morgan Stanley increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 18.0% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 8,634,627 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,941,708,000 after purchasing an additional 1,315,174 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.4% during the first quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,210,385 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,069,186,000 after purchasing an additional 111,505 shares during the period. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 118,320.2% during the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 7,396,524 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,376,513,000 after purchasing an additional 7,390,278 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 10.6% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,595,523 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,780,247,000 after purchasing an additional 535,776 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at $2,328,844,000. 66.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

NASDAQ:COST opened at $559.76 on Thursday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1-year low of $447.90 and a 1-year high of $571.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.57. The business has a 50 day moving average of $549.66 and a 200 day moving average of $518.26. The company has a market capitalization of $248.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.46, a PEG ratio of 4.05 and a beta of 0.79.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 8th. Investors of record on Friday, August 25th were issued a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 24th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.22%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,565 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $533.00, for a total transaction of $834,145.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 13,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,104,357. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

COST has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Wednesday, August 23rd. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $560.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 3rd. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $575.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Monday, August 28th. VNET Group restated a “reiterates” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, June 29th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $575.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 25th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $566.63.

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, the United Kingdom, Mexico, Japan, Korea, Australia, Spain, France, Iceland, China, and Taiwan. It offers branded and private-label products in a range of merchandise categories.