Wrapmanager Inc. Has $519,000 Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Wrapmanager Inc. raised its position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 2.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 787 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 21 shares during the period. Wrapmanager Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $519,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $9,207,000. Gradient Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 7.4% in the third quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 24,493 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $13,838,000 after acquiring an additional 1,677 shares during the last quarter. TIAA Trust National Association acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the third quarter worth about $11,868,000. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 1,264 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $714,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ING Groep NV lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 81.0% during the 3rd quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 192,112 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $108,536,000 after purchasing an additional 85,991 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Loop Capital dropped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $830.00 to $820.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $760.00 to $805.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $680.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $795.00 to $805.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $610.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. 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 price target of $694.48.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of the business’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 transaction of $1,043,258.16. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 12,395 shares in the company, valued at $8,967,534.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $7,228,600. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $1,043,258.16. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 12,395 shares in the company, valued at $8,967,534.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 3,727 shares of company stock worth $2,682,948. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Costco Wholesale stock traded up $15.63 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $779.04. 1,715,288 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,026,843. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.93. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $731.53 and its 200 day simple moving average is $676.58. The firm has a market cap of $345.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.95, a P/E/G ratio of 4.95 and a beta of 0.77. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52 week low of $476.75 and a 52 week high of $787.08.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.62 by $0.09. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 28.80% and a net margin of 2.73%. The business had revenue of $58.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $59.11 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.30 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors of record on Friday, April 26th will be issued a dividend of $1.16 per share. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 25th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.60%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is presently 30.35%.

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.