Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Bought by Cozad Asset Management Inc.

Cozad Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.4% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 18,692 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale accounts for approximately 1.4% of Cozad Asset Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest position. Cozad Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $12,338,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in COST. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.0% during the third quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 28,855 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $16,302,000 after buying an additional 273 shares during the period. Keating Investment Counselors Inc. increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 43.0% in the 3rd quarter. Keating Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 2,643 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,493,000 after buying an additional 795 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 28.9% in the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 272,288 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $179,822,000 after purchasing an additional 61,122 shares during the last quarter. Rice Partnership LLC increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 21.0% in the 3rd quarter. Rice Partnership LLC now owns 11,741 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $6,633,000 after buying an additional 2,038 shares during the period. Finally, Rappaport Reiches Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 23.5% during the 4th quarter. Rappaport Reiches Capital Management LLC now owns 814 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $538,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director now directly owns 12,395 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,967,534.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $4,785,786.85. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $8,967,534.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 3,727 shares of company stock valued at $2,682,948 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock traded down $4.92 on Tuesday, reaching $721.41. 387,979 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,029,139. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $730.46 and its 200-day moving average price is $668.62. The company has a market cap of $319.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.86 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 current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.43.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted 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 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 revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.30 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.84 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 26th will be given a $1.16 dividend. 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. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.64%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.35%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $795.00 to $805.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Loop Capital decreased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $830.00 to $820.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $760.00 to $805.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $610.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, Roth Mkm boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $601.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $694.48.

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.