Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. Grows Stock Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 225.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 67,522 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 46,774 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale makes up about 0.9% of Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 15th largest holding. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $44,570,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Smart Money Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 22.4% in the fourth quarter. Smart Money Group LLC now owns 480 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $317,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 14.5% in the fourth quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,065 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $703,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 47.7% in the fourth quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 293,481 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $193,721,000 after purchasing an additional 94,832 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 315,593 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $208,317,000 after purchasing an additional 6,975 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 386,527 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $255,139,000 after purchasing an additional 12,320 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 1.4 %

Costco Wholesale stock traded up $10.22 during trading on Thursday, reaching $732.44. 1,794,581 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,037,400. 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 current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.43. The company has a market capitalization of $324.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.61, a PEG ratio of 4.81 and a beta of 0.77. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $730.38 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $670.09.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its 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. The company had revenue of $58.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $59.11 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 28.80% and a net margin of 2.73%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.30 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors of record on Friday, April 26th will be issued a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 25th. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is currently 30.35%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised 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. Oppenheimer raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $760.00 to $805.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Loop Capital dropped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $830.00 to $820.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Tigress Financial raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $745.00 to $870.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $665.00 to $749.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $694.48.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 owns 6,695 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,785,786.85. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was 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 directly owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,228,600. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 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 value of $1,072,245.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,785,786.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 3,727 shares of company stock worth $2,682,948. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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, 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.