Stanley Laman Group Ltd. Buys 217 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Stanley Laman Group Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 3.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,736 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 217 shares during the period. Stanley Laman Group Ltd.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $4,446,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Richelieu Gestion SA bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 200.0% during the 4th quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 45 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Steph & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 42.3% during 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 purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:COST traded down $2.03 on Thursday, hitting $721.86. The company had a trading volume of 1,612,268 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,062,339. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $730.31 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $664.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $320.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.21, a P/E/G ratio of 4.81 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. 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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.62 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $58.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $59.11 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 28.80% and a net margin of 2.73%. The business’s revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.30 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 26th will be given a $1.16 dividend. 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. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.64%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the director now owns 12,395 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,967,534.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 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 transaction, the director now owns 12,395 shares in the company, valued at $8,967,534.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $714.83, for a total transaction 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. Insiders sold a total of 3,727 shares of company stock worth $2,682,948 in the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on COST. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $795.00 to $805.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $800.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $610.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $760.00 to $805.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, Roth Mkm boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $601.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $694.48.

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.