Magnus Financial Group LLC Has $657,000 Stock Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Magnus Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 2.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 996 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Magnus Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $657,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of COST. Richelieu Gestion SA bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 200.0% during the fourth quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 45 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Steph & Co. grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 42.3% in the 3rd quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 74 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the period. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at about $49,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

COST has been the topic of several recent research reports. Roth Mkm increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $601.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $630.00 to $710.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $665.00 to $749.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Gordon Haskett cut shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to an “accumulate” rating and set a $775.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. 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 report on Tuesday, March 5th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $694.48.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of COST opened at $730.15 on Monday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a twelve month low of $476.75 and a twelve month high of $787.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $323.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.69, a PEG ratio of 4.86 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 firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $730.41 and its 200-day simple moving average is $667.48.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released 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. The company had revenue of $58.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $59.11 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 28.80% and a net margin of 2.73%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.30 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors of record on Friday, April 26th will be given a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.64%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 25th. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.35%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $723.48, for a total transaction of $1,043,258.16. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 12,395 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,967,534.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $714.83, for a total transaction of $1,072,245.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of the 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 sale, the director now owns 12,395 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,967,534.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 3,727 shares of company stock valued at $2,682,948. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.