Motley Fool Asset Management LLC Increases Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Motley Fool Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 2.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 31,360 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 733 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale comprises approximately 1.5% of Motley Fool Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $20,700,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Howard Financial Services LTD. raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. now owns 870 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $574,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. First National Corp MA ADV raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. First National Corp MA ADV now owns 3,098 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,045,000 after buying an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Morton Capital Management LLC CA raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Morton Capital Management LLC CA now owns 1,564 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,032,000 after buying an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Insight Advisors LLC PA raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Insight Advisors LLC PA now owns 2,736 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,807,000 after buying an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Optas LLC raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Optas LLC now owns 2,383 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,573,000 after buying an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $722.86, for a total transaction of $567,445.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,228,600. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $722.86, for a total transaction of $567,445.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,228,600. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $714.83, for a total transaction of $1,072,245.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,785,786.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 3,727 shares of company stock valued at $2,682,948 in the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of COST stock traded down $2.03 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $721.86. 1,612,268 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,062,339. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $730.31 and a 200 day moving average of $664.86. 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 Co. has a 52-week low of $476.75 and a 52-week high of $787.08. The company has a market cap of $320.14 billion, a PE ratio of 47.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.81 and a beta of 0.77.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $795.00 to $805.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $800.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $665.00 to $749.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. StockNews.com downgraded Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Gordon Haskett downgraded Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to an “accumulate” rating and set a $775.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $694.48.

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.