Carret Asset Management LLC Has $2.68 Million Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Carret Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.8% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 4,059 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 34 shares during the quarter. Carret Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $2,679,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Acas LLC lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Acas LLC now owns 2,819 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,861,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 7,780 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,129,000 after acquiring an additional 416 shares during the last quarter. Madison Park Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth $2,017,000. Private Management Group Inc. lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 6.7% during the 4th quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 974 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $643,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cumberland Partners Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Cumberland Partners Ltd now owns 54,974 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $36,287,000 after purchasing an additional 502 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $723.48, for a total value of $1,043,258.16. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 12,395 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,967,534.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $714.83, for a total transaction of $1,072,245.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,785,786.85. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 3,727 shares of company stock worth $2,682,948. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock traded up $1.21 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $723.89. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,203,546 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,067,977. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52-week low of $476.75 and a 52-week high of $787.08. The company has a market cap of $321.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.18, a PEG ratio of 4.76 and a beta of 0.77. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $730.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $664.04. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.62 by $0.09. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.73% and a return on equity of 28.80%. The company had revenue of $58.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $59.11 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.30 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.84 earnings per share for the current 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 issued a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 25th. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.64%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is 26.68%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on COST. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $610.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Gordon Haskett downgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to an “accumulate” rating and set a $775.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Loop Capital lowered their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $830.00 to $820.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Roth Mkm upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $601.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $694.48.

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.