Curran Financial Partners LLC Has $2.16 Million Stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Curran Financial Partners LLC lessened its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 2.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,148 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 81 shares during the period. Curran Financial Partners LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $2,161,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of COST. United Bank lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 9.2% during the 1st quarter. United Bank now owns 5,254 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,026,000 after acquiring an additional 444 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 33.6% during the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 383,691 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $220,948,000 after purchasing an additional 96,566 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 87.1% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 232 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $134,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Bridgefront Capital LLC bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 1st quarter valued at $333,000. Finally, Next Century Growth Investors LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Next Century Growth Investors LLC now owns 3,414 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,965,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

NASDAQ COST traded up $1.67 during trading on Thursday, hitting $716.86. 583,970 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,080,803. The stock has a market capitalization of $317.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.85, a PEG ratio of 4.77 and a beta of 0.77. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12-month low of $476.75 and a 12-month 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 moving average of $730.83 and a 200-day moving average of $659.23.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $58.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $59.11 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.30 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 26th will be issued a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.65%. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 25th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.68%.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In related news, 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 value 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 $4,785,786.85. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of the 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,695 shares in the company, valued at $4,785,786.85. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction of $5,487,440.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 216,212 shares in the company, valued at $148,306,297.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 10,942 shares of company stock valued at $7,602,943. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on COST shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $610.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Loop Capital reduced their target price 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. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $680.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $760.00 to $805.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $691.28.

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.