Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Stake Raised by Cumberland Partners Ltd

Cumberland Partners Ltd raised its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 54,974 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 502 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale makes up 3.1% of Cumberland Partners Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest position. Cumberland Partners Ltd’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $36,287,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of COST. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at $2,260,000. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 13.7% in the fourth quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,768 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,167,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares during the last quarter. Lorne Steinberg Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth about $222,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 13.1% in the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,961 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,294,000 after purchasing an additional 227 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SlateStone Wealth LLC boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC now owns 13,415 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $8,855,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on COST. Loop Capital decreased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $830.00 to $820.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $630.00 to $710.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. StockNews.com downgraded Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Tigress Financial lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $745.00 to $870.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $795.00 to $805.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $694.48.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of COST traded up $7.22 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $722.68. The company had a trading volume of 1,174,884 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,079,065. The company has a market capitalization of $320.51 billion, a PE ratio of 47.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.73 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. Costco Wholesale Co. has a one year low of $476.75 and a one year high of $787.08. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $730.32 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $664.04.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly 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. The business had revenue of $58.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $59.11 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 28.80% and a net margin of 2.73%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.30 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders 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 0.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 25th. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is presently 30.35%.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director now owns 12,395 shares in the company, valued at $8,967,534.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $722.86, for a total value of $567,445.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $7,228,600. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of the 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 transaction, the director now owns 12,395 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,967,534.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 3,727 shares of company stock worth $2,682,948 over the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.