Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Purchased by Carret Asset Management LLC

Carret Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,059 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the quarter. Carret Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $2,679,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of COST. Richelieu Gestion SA acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 200.0% during the 4th quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 45 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Steph & Co. grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 42.3% in the third quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 74 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth $49,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

COST has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $760.00 to $805.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $680.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. StockNews.com lowered Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Gordon Haskett downgraded Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to an “accumulate” rating and set a $775.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Roth Mkm raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $601.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $694.48.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock traded up $1.21 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $723.89. 1,203,546 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,067,977. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $730.32 and its 200 day moving average is $664.04. The firm has a market cap of $321.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.76 and a beta of 0.77. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1 year low of $476.75 and a 1 year high of $787.08.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $58.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $59.11 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.73% and a return on equity of 28.80%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.30 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.64%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 25th. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.68%.

Insider Activity

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $722.86, for a total value of $567,445.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,228,600. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 12,395 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,967,534.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $722.86, for a total transaction of $567,445.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,228,600. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 3,727 shares of company stock worth $2,682,948 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.