Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Acquired by Successful Portfolios LLC

Successful Portfolios LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 13.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 475 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 58 shares during the period. Successful Portfolios LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $314,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in COST. United Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 9.2% during the first quarter. United Bank now owns 5,254 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,026,000 after acquiring an additional 444 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 33.6% in the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 383,691 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $220,948,000 after buying an additional 96,566 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 87.1% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 232 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $134,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Bridgefront Capital LLC bought a new position in Costco Wholesale during the first quarter valued at approximately $333,000. Finally, Next Century Growth Investors LLC raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 0.9% during the first quarter. Next Century Growth Investors LLC now owns 3,414 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,965,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,695 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,785,786.85. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Costco Wholesale news, VP Yoram Rubanenko sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $680.33, for a total transaction of $1,700,825.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 5,910 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,020,750.30. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of the 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,695 shares in the company, valued at $4,785,786.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 15,582 shares of company stock worth $10,736,778 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock traded up $1.10 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $732.08. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,245,685 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,165,796. 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 company has a market cap of $324.68 billion, a PE ratio of 47.78, a PEG ratio of 5.07 and a beta of 0.77. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12-month low of $476.75 and a 12-month high of $787.08. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $723.33 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $641.98.

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. The company had revenue of $58.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $59.11 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 28.80% and a net margin of 2.73%. Costco Wholesale’s revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.30 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 2nd were issued a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 1st. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.56%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.68%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. DA Davidson increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $570.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 15th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $615.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 15th. Tigress Financial lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $745.00 to $870.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $693.00 to $741.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 21st. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $585.00 to $630.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 15th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $668.50.

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.