Terra Nova Asset Management LLC Purchases 719 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Terra Nova Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 30.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,118 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 719 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale accounts for 1.8% of Terra Nova Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Terra Nova Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $2,058,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Richelieu Gestion SA bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Steph & Co. grew its holdings in 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 during the period. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth about $49,000. Finally, Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 888.9% during the third quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 89 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Yoram Rubanenko sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $680.33, for a total value of $1,700,825.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 5,910 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,020,750.30. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, Director W Craig Jelinek sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $685.93, for a total value of $5,487,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 216,212 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $148,306,297.16. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Yoram Rubanenko sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $680.33, for a total transaction of $1,700,825.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 5,910 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,020,750.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 15,582 shares of company stock worth $10,736,778. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of COST opened at $732.63 on Friday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a twelve month low of $476.75 and a twelve month high of $787.08. The company has a market cap of $324.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.92, a P/E/G ratio of 5.06 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $724.29 and its 200-day simple moving average is $642.61.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.62 by $0.09. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.73% and a return on equity of 28.80%. The company had revenue of $58.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $59.11 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.30 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.82 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 2nd were issued a $1.02 dividend. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 1st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.68%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on COST shares. Raymond James lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $580.00 to $670.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 15th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $640.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 12th. DA Davidson upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $570.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 15th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $612.00 to $700.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 15th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $665.00 to $749.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $668.50.

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.