Delta Financial Advisors LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Delta Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 5.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,121 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 221 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale accounts for 1.2% of Delta Financial Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest position. Delta Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $2,720,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Richelieu Gestion SA purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 200.0% during the fourth quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 45 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the period. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Steph & Co. grew its stake 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 buying an additional 22 shares during the period. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth approximately $49,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on COST. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $665.00 to $749.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $795.00 to $805.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating 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. Gordon Haskett cut shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to an “accumulate” rating and set a $775.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $691.28.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock traded down $0.13 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $715.06. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 730,360 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,082,960. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $730.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $659.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.93. Costco Wholesale Co. has a one year low of $476.75 and a one year high of $787.08. The stock has a market cap of $317.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.77 and a beta of 0.77.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted 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 company had revenue of $58.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $59.11 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.30 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.84 EPS for the current fiscal 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 issued a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 25th. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director W Craig Jelinek sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director now owns 216,212 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $148,306,297.16. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 6,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,785,786.85. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director W Craig Jelinek sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 216,212 shares in the company, valued at approximately $148,306,297.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 10,942 shares of company stock valued at $7,602,943 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.