Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Acquired by Gray Wealth Management Inc.

Gray Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 9.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 551 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the period. Gray Wealth Management Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $364,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 118,320.2% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 7,396,524 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,376,513,000 after buying an additional 7,390,278 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at $2,328,844,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 61,693.5% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,105,124 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,049,630,000 after purchasing an additional 3,100,099 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 18.0% during the 4th 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. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 172.6% during the 2nd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,357,548 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $730,877,000 after purchasing an additional 859,599 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director W Craig Jelinek sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $685.93, for a total value of $5,487,440.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 216,212 shares in the company, valued at $148,306,297.16. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Costco Wholesale news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $723.48, for a total transaction of $1,043,258.16. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 12,395 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,967,534.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director W Craig Jelinek sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $685.93, for a total transaction of $5,487,440.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 216,212 shares in the company, valued at $148,306,297.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 10,942 shares of company stock valued at $7,602,943 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

COST has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $800.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Roth Mkm boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $601.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $610.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $665.00 to $749.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $691.28.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

COST stock traded down $3.94 during trading on Thursday, hitting $711.25. The company had a trading volume of 1,582,175 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,094,689. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1-year low of $476.75 and a 1-year high of $787.08. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $730.83 and a 200-day moving average price of $659.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The firm has a market cap of $315.44 billion, a PE ratio of 46.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.77 and a beta of 0.77.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.62 by $0.09. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 28.80% and a net margin of 2.73%. The business had revenue of $58.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $59.11 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.30 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 26th will be paid a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 25th. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.68%.

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.