Peddock Capital Advisors LLC Raises Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Peddock Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 2.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,840 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 51 shares during the quarter. Peddock Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,215,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of COST. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 61,693.5% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,105,124 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,049,630,000 after acquiring an additional 3,100,099 shares during the period. C WorldWide Group Holding A S purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the third quarter valued at $390,630,000. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at $297,915,000. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 18.3% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,088,673 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,180,016,000 after buying an additional 323,346 shares during the period. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 34.8% in the 3rd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,161,630 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $656,274,000 after buying an additional 300,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

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 shares were sold at an average price of $723.48, for a total transaction of $1,043,258.16. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 12,395 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,967,534.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the business’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 in the company, valued at $7,228,600. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 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 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 3,727 shares of company stock valued at $2,682,948. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on COST shares. Tigress Financial increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $745.00 to $870.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Roth Mkm increased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $601.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Citigroup boosted their price objective 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. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $665.00 to $749.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $800.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Monday. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $694.48.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

NASDAQ COST traded down $7.71 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $763.60. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 978,407 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,023,974. The stock has a market cap of $338.66 billion, a PE ratio of 50.32, a PEG ratio of 4.95 and a beta of 0.77. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $731.22 and a 200 day simple moving average of $675.97. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52 week low of $476.75 and a 52 week high of $787.08. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.62 by $0.09. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 28.80% and a net margin of 2.73%. The firm had revenue of $58.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $59.11 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.30 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The firm 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 represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 25th. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 30.35%.

About Costco Wholesale

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.