Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Bought by Naviter Wealth LLC

Naviter Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 17.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,050 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 460 shares during the quarter. Naviter Wealth LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $2,059,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Birchcreek Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. Birchcreek Wealth Management LLC now owns 409 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $270,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Guyasuta Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Guyasuta Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 3,224 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,128,000 after buying an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Choreo LLC grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 28.9% in the fourth quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 12,122 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $8,184,000 after buying an additional 2,715 shares during the last quarter. McAdam LLC bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at $354,000. Finally, Mather Group LLC. lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 9,831 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $6,489,000 after acquiring an additional 231 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Costco Wholesale news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 12,395 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,967,534.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 12,395 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,967,534.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $7,228,600. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 3,727 shares of company stock worth $2,682,948 in the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Costco Wholesale stock traded down $6.07 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $723.11. The stock had a trading volume of 686,266 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,038,641. The company has a 50-day moving average of $730.41 and a two-hundred day moving average of $667.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. Costco Wholesale Co. has a fifty-two week low of $476.75 and a fifty-two week high of $787.08. The company has a market cap of $320.70 billion, a PE ratio of 47.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.86 and a beta of 0.77.

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, beating 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 firm had revenue of $58.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $59.11 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.30 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 is a positive change 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 0.64%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.35%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on COST shares. StockNews.com downgraded Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $800.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Roth Mkm upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $601.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective 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, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $665.00 to $749.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $694.48.

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.