Prosperitas Financial LLC Increases Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Prosperitas Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 10.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,638 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 258 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale accounts for approximately 1.3% of Prosperitas Financial LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. Prosperitas Financial LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,742,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in COST. Richelieu Gestion SA purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 200.0% in the 4th quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 45 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Steph & Co. raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 42.3% in the 3rd quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 74 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the period. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth about $49,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on COST shares. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $800.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Loop Capital reduced their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $830.00 to $820.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Roth Mkm raised their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $601.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $610.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, Northcoast Research lowered shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $620.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, December 20th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $691.28.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Yoram Rubanenko sold 2,500 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the vice president now owns 5,910 shares in the company, valued at $4,020,750.30. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,695 shares in the company, valued at $4,785,786.85. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Yoram Rubanenko sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 5,910 shares in the company, valued at $4,020,750.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 13,442 shares of company stock worth $9,303,768 over the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock traded up $1.69 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $719.97. 376,365 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,096,750. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52-week low of $476.75 and a 52-week high of $787.08. 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 business has a 50-day simple moving average of $730.82 and a 200-day simple moving average of $657.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $319.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.16, a PEG ratio of 4.87 and a beta of 0.77.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $59.11 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.30 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.84 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business 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. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 25th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.64%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.68%.

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.