TCG Advisory Services LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

TCG Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 5.9% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 7,034 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 389 shares during the period. TCG Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $4,643,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Summit Financial Strategies Inc. bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $228,000. Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 58.2% in the third quarter. Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC now owns 981 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $554,000 after purchasing an additional 361 shares during the last quarter. S. R. Schill & Associates raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 9.3% during the third quarter. S. R. Schill & Associates now owns 2,593 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,465,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. Aspire Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 1.4% during the third quarter. Aspire Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,945 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,229,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. now owns 215,700 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $121,862,000 after buying an additional 3,800 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of COST stock traded up $11.46 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $743.90. The stock had a trading volume of 2,323,300 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,605,560. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12-month low of $476.75 and a 12-month 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 firm’s 50-day moving average is $730.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $671.71. The firm 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.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.62 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $58.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $59.11 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.73% and a return on equity of 28.80%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.30 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The firm 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 dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.62%. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 25th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.35%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 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 shares were 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,228,600. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 3,727 shares of company stock valued at $2,682,948 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Gordon Haskett cut shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to an “accumulate” rating and set a $775.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Citigroup raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $630.00 to $710.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Tigress Financial boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $745.00 to $870.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $795.00 to $805.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $610.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently 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.