Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Acquired by Traynor Capital Management Inc.

Traynor Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 17.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,089 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 317 shares during the quarter. Traynor Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,379,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Richelieu Gestion SA acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Steph & Co. raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 42.3% in the 3rd quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 74 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the period. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth approximately $49,000. Finally, Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 888.9% during the 3rd quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 89 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.1 %

COST traded up $0.55 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $732.63. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,711,632 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,158,359. 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 is $724.29 and its 200-day moving average is $642.61. Costco Wholesale Co. has a fifty-two week low of $476.75 and a fifty-two week high of $787.08. The stock has a market cap of $324.92 billion, a PE ratio of 47.90, a P/E/G ratio of 5.07 and a beta of 0.77.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 analysts’ expectations of $59.11 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.30 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

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

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 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Costco Wholesale 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 transaction, 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 accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,695 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,785,786.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 15,582 shares of company stock worth $10,736,778 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

COST has been the subject of several research reports. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $612.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 15th. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $570.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 15th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $640.00 to $725.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 15th. Northcoast Research lowered Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $620.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, December 20th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $615.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 15th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $668.50.

Costco Wholesale Company 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.