Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Bought by SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC

SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,742 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale makes up 0.9% of SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest position. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $7,047,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of COST. Sandbox Financial Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Sandbox Financial Partners LLC now owns 679 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $448,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC now owns 22,355 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $14,756,000 after purchasing an additional 1,193 shares during the last quarter. Ocean Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Ocean Capital Management LLC now owns 55,214 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $36,446,000 after buying an additional 530 shares in the last quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 28.6% in the fourth quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC now owns 504 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $333,000 after buying an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Terra Nova Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 30.0% during the 4th quarter. Terra Nova Asset Management LLC now owns 3,118 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,058,000 after acquiring an additional 719 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

COST traded up $0.55 during trading on Thursday, reaching $732.63. 1,711,632 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,158,359. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1 year low of $476.75 and a 1 year 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 business’s 50 day moving average price is $724.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $642.61. The company has a market capitalization of $324.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.90, a P/E/G ratio of 5.07 and a beta of 0.77.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.62 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $58.44 billion during 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%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.30 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.78 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 2nd were issued a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 1st. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.56%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.68%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price 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. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $585.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 15th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $610.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Tigress Financial lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $745.00 to $870.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $750.00 to $785.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, March 4th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $668.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Costco Wholesale news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $723.48, for a total value of $1,043,258.16. Following the transaction, the director now owns 12,395 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,967,534.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director W Craig Jelinek sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $685.93, for a total transaction of $5,487,440.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 216,212 shares in the company, valued at approximately $148,306,297.16. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of the company’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 value of $1,043,258.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 12,395 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,967,534.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 15,582 shares of company stock worth $10,736,778. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.