EdgeRock Capital LLC Has $422,000 Stock Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

EdgeRock Capital LLC lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 33.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 593 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 147 shares during the period. EdgeRock Capital LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $422,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of COST. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 61,693.5% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,105,124 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,049,630,000 after acquiring an additional 3,100,099 shares during the last quarter. C WorldWide Group Holding A S acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the third quarter worth $390,630,000. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth $297,915,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 18.3% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,088,673 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,180,016,000 after buying an additional 323,346 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 34.8% during the third quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,161,630 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $656,274,000 after buying an additional 300,000 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on COST. Tigress Financial lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $745.00 to $870.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $680.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Loop Capital decreased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $830.00 to $820.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $630.00 to $710.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $694.48.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 2.0 %

NASDAQ COST traded up $14.86 on Tuesday, reaching $771.31. The company had a trading volume of 1,896,810 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,036,400. 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 52 week low of $476.75 and a 52 week high of $787.08. The stock has a market cap of $342.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.45, a PEG ratio of 4.95 and a beta of 0.77. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $731.22 and its 200-day moving average is $675.97.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released 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. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.73% and a return on equity of 28.80%. The business had revenue of $58.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $59.11 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.30 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.84 earnings per share for the current 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 $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 25th. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.60%. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.35%.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,695 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,785,786.85. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $722.86, for a total transaction of $567,445.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,228,600. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of the 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 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 quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.