Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Acquired by Valley Brook Capital Group Inc.

Valley Brook Capital Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,670 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the quarter. Valley Brook Capital Group Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,102,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 4.3% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,134,947 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,901,040,000 after buying an additional 210,586 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 61,693.5% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,105,124 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,049,630,000 after acquiring an additional 3,100,099 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 2,794,480 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,844,581,000 after purchasing an additional 85,398 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.9% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,689,514 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,519,468,000 after purchasing an additional 24,274 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.1% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,580,649 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,457,964,000 after purchasing an additional 28,259 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on COST. Roth Mkm lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $601.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $760.00 to $805.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Loop Capital decreased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $830.00 to $820.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, 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 report on Thursday, February 8th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $694.48.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 1.6 %

NASDAQ COST traded up $11.46 on Friday, hitting $743.90. 2,323,300 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,605,560. The company has a market capitalization of $329.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.95 and a beta of 0.77. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $730.46 and a 200 day moving average of $673.08. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. Costco Wholesale Co. has a twelve month low of $476.75 and a twelve month high of $787.08.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 28.80% and a net margin of 2.73%. The firm had revenue of $58.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $59.11 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.30 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.62%. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.35%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $723.48, for a total transaction of $1,043,258.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 12,395 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,967,534.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $723.48, for a total transaction of $1,043,258.16. Following the sale, the director now owns 12,395 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,967,534.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, 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 completion of 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 3,727 shares of company stock valued at $2,682,948. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.