Wealthspire Advisors LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Wealthspire Advisors LLC lifted its position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 19.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 10,080 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,631 shares during the quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $6,654,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Howard Financial Services LTD. raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. now owns 870 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $574,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the period. First National Corp MA ADV raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. First National Corp MA ADV now owns 3,098 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,045,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Morton Capital Management LLC CA lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Morton Capital Management LLC CA now owns 1,564 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,032,000 after buying an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Insight Advisors LLC PA boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 0.6% in the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Optas LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 0.6% during the 4th 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of COST traded down $7.90 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $763.41. 1,511,411 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,030,519. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.93. The firm has a market cap of $338.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.93, a P/E/G ratio of 4.95 and a beta of 0.77. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52-week low of $476.75 and a 52-week high of $787.08. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $731.22 and a 200 day simple moving average of $675.97.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $58.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $59.11 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.30 EPS. Costco Wholesale’s revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors of record on Friday, April 26th will be paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.61%. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 25th. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is presently 30.35%.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $722.86, for a total value 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director now directly owns 12,395 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,967,534.60. 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 corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on COST. Roth Mkm lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $601.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $610.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. 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 research note on Thursday, April 11th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $760.00 to $805.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $630.00 to $710.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.