Beck Bode LLC Increases Stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Beck Bode LLC boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 5.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 14,178 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 671 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale comprises 2.1% of Beck Bode LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest position. Beck Bode LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $9,358,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 6.8% in the 3rd quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,555 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $879,000 after buying an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 11.9% in the 3rd quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 17,361 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $9,820,000 after buying an additional 1,848 shares during the last quarter. Carderock Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Carderock Capital Management Inc. now owns 11,300 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $6,384,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Busey Trust CO grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 5.9% in the 3rd quarter. Busey Trust CO now owns 13,211 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,464,000 after buying an additional 737 shares during the last quarter. Finally, RMR Wealth Builders grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 34.7% in the 3rd quarter. RMR Wealth Builders now owns 3,493 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,973,000 after buying an additional 900 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Costco Wholesale stock traded down $3.43 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $722.90. 1,734,041 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,045,451. The stock has a market capitalization of $320.61 billion, a PE ratio of 47.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.86 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.43. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12-month low of $476.75 and a 12-month high of $787.08. The business’s 50-day moving average is $730.40 and its 200-day moving average is $669.72.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.62 by $0.09. The company 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%. Costco Wholesale’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.30 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors of record on Friday, April 26th will be given a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 25th. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is 30.35%.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $4,785,786.85. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Costco Wholesale news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of the business’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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 12,395 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,967,534.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,785,786.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 3,727 shares of company stock worth $2,682,948. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $760.00 to $805.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Tigress Financial lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $745.00 to $870.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $665.00 to $749.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $795.00 to $805.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $610.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $694.48.

Costco Wholesale 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.