Axxcess Wealth Management LLC Acquires 1,187 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Axxcess Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 8.2% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 15,618 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,187 shares during the period. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $10,309,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth about $297,000. One Charles Private Wealth Services LLC raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. One Charles Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 1,134 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $748,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. Horan Capital Advisors LLC. increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Horan Capital Advisors LLC. now owns 810 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $535,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Bordeaux Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 61.8% in the fourth quarter. Bordeaux Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,162 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,427,000 after purchasing an additional 826 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Carson Advisory Inc. bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth $206,000. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 1.6 %

COST stock traded up $11.46 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $743.90. 2,323,300 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,605,560. The firm has a market cap of $329.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.65, a P/E/G ratio of 4.95 and a beta of 0.77. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1-year low of $476.75 and a 1-year 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 firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $730.46 and its 200 day simple moving average is $671.71.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 earnings per share 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $59.11 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.30 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 26th will be given a dividend of $1.16 per share. 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 0.62%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 30.35%.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $722.86, for a total value of $567,445.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,228,600. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $7,228,600. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $723.48, for a total value of $1,043,258.16. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 12,395 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,967,534.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 3,727 shares of company stock worth $2,682,948 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on COST shares. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $665.00 to $749.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $680.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Loop Capital reduced their target price on Costco Wholesale from $830.00 to $820.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Gordon Haskett downgraded Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to an “accumulate” rating and set a $775.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $610.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $694.48.

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.