Western Wealth Management LLC Purchases 246 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Western Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.4% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 17,360 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 246 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale accounts for about 0.8% of Western Wealth Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. Western Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $11,459,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.0% during the third quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 28,855 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $16,302,000 after purchasing an additional 273 shares during the period. Keating Investment Counselors Inc. grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 43.0% during the third quarter. Keating Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 2,643 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,493,000 after purchasing an additional 795 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 28.9% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 272,288 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $179,822,000 after purchasing an additional 61,122 shares during the period. Rice Partnership LLC grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 21.0% during the third quarter. Rice Partnership LLC now owns 11,741 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $6,633,000 after purchasing an additional 2,038 shares during the period. Finally, Rappaport Reiches Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 23.5% during the fourth quarter. Rappaport Reiches Capital Management LLC now owns 814 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $538,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 0.6 %

COST stock traded down $3.94 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $711.25. 1,845,885 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,098,199. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52-week low of $476.75 and a 52-week high of $787.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.93. The business has a 50 day moving average of $730.83 and a 200-day moving average of $659.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $315.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.85, a P/E/G ratio of 4.77 and a beta of 0.77.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 the consensus estimate of $59.11 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.30 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 26th will be given a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 25th. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.65%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is 26.68%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on COST shares. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $800.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $610.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $680.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Northcoast Research lowered Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $620.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, December 20th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $691.28.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $714.83, for a total value of $1,072,245.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,695 shares in the company, valued at $4,785,786.85. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $722.86, for a total transaction of $567,445.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,228,600. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $714.83, for a total value of $1,072,245.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,695 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,785,786.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 11,727 shares of company stock worth $8,170,388. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Costco Wholesale

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.