Lockerman Financial Group Inc. Has $425,000 Stock Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Lockerman Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 25.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 500 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the quarter. Lockerman Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $425,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of COST. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.2% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 40,833,870 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $29,916,118,000 after purchasing an additional 473,702 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at $3,628,694,000. Capital World Investors raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 8.1% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,824,778 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,802,147,000 after acquiring an additional 285,533 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 2,794,480 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,844,581,000 after acquiring an additional 85,398 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,657,994 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,754,489,000 after acquiring an additional 77,345 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 350 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $851.53, for a total value of $298,035.50. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 5,920 shares in the company, valued at $5,041,057.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 350 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $851.53, for a total transaction of $298,035.50. Following the sale, the director now owns 5,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,041,057.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $848.53, for a total value of $1,272,795.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 10,992 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,327,041.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 3,350 shares of company stock worth $2,837,131. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 1.7 %

Costco Wholesale stock traded up $14.64 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $877.35. 1,833,967 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,989,950. The firm has a market capitalization of $388.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.36, a PEG ratio of 5.73 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.94. Costco Wholesale Co. has a fifty-two week low of $530.56 and a fifty-two week high of $896.67. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $847.25 and its 200-day moving average is $780.08.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 30th. The retailer reported $3.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.70 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $58.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $58.16 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.83% and a return on equity of 30.02%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.43 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 26th were issued a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 26th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.75%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $927.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $775.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Gordon Haskett upgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from an “accumulate” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $925.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $900.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $975.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $824.50.

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.