Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Acquired by New Capital Management LP

New Capital Management LP increased its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 1,231.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,974 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,150 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale makes up about 2.3% of New Capital Management LP’s holdings, making the stock its 12th largest holding. New Capital Management LP’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $7,244,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of COST. Richelieu Gestion SA acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Steph & Co. raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 42.3% in the third quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 74 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at $49,000. Finally, Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 888.9% in the third quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 89 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

COST traded up $0.55 during trading on Friday, reaching $732.63. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,713,268 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,605,208. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52-week low of $476.75 and a 52-week high of $787.08. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $725.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $643.24. The company has a market capitalization of $324.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.06 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.93.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $59.11 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.30 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on COST. Truist Financial raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $693.00 to $741.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 21st. Tigress Financial lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $745.00 to $870.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $610.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $585.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 15th. Finally, Northcoast Research cut Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $620.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, December 20th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $668.50.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Caton Frates sold 740 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $683.50, for a total transaction of $505,790.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,721 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,593,803.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,400 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $662.30, for a total transaction of $927,220.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,922 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,220,540.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Caton Frates sold 740 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $683.50, for a total value of $505,790.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,721 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,593,803.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 15,582 shares of company stock valued at $10,736,778 in the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.