Capital Performance Advisors LLP Grows Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Capital Performance Advisors LLP lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 13.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 920 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 108 shares during the quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $607,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in COST. Richelieu Gestion SA purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 200.0% in the 4th quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 45 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Steph & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 42.3% in the third quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 74 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth about $49,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 1.7 %

NASDAQ COST traded up $12.55 on Monday, reaching $756.45. 1,772,820 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,038,013. 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 company has a fifty day moving average price of $730.69 and a 200-day moving average price of $674.43. The company has a market cap of $335.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.47, a PEG ratio of 4.95 and a beta of 0.77.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $58.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $59.11 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.73% and a return on equity of 28.80%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.30 earnings per share. As a group, research 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 26th will be paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 25th. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.61%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.35%.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 12,395 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,967,534.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,785,786.85. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $723.48, for a total value 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. Insiders have sold a total of 3,727 shares of company stock valued at $2,682,948 over the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

COST has been the topic of a number of research reports. Roth Mkm lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $601.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $630.00 to $710.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Gordon Haskett downgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to an “accumulate” rating and set a $775.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $665.00 to $749.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $795.00 to $805.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.