Altfest L J & Co. Inc. Raises Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Altfest L J & Co. Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 11.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 1,525 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 161 shares during the period. Altfest L J & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,007,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Richelieu Gestion SA purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Steph & Co. boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 42.3% in the third quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 74 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Finally, Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 888.9% in the third quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 89 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 0.4 %

NASDAQ:COST traded down $3.23 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $728.85. The company had a trading volume of 551,896 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,139,923. 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 company has a 50-day moving average of $723.33 and a 200 day moving average of $641.98. The company has a market cap of $323.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.78, a P/E/G ratio of 5.07 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.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.62 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $58.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $59.11 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 28.80% and a net margin of 2.73%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.30 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.78 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 2nd were issued a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 1st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.68%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on COST. Loop Capital upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $710.00 to $755.00 in a research report on Friday, January 19th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $640.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 12th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $615.00 to $675.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 15th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $610.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, Raymond James upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $580.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 15th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $668.50.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,785,786.85. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,785,786.85. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director W Craig Jelinek sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $685.93, for a total value of $5,487,440.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 216,212 shares in the company, valued at approximately $148,306,297.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 15,582 shares of company stock worth $10,736,778. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.