Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. Raises Stock Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 8.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,673 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,104,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Richelieu Gestion SA bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 200.0% in the fourth quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 45 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the period. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Steph & Co. raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 42.3% during the 3rd quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 74 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the period. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at $49,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of COST stock traded up $11.46 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $743.90. 2,323,300 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,605,560. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12-month low of $476.75 and a 12-month 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. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $730.46 and its 200-day moving average price is $671.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $329.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.95 and a beta of 0.77.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 2.73% and a return on equity of 28.80%. The firm had revenue of $58.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $59.11 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.30 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors 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 a boost 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 0.62%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is currently 30.35%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on COST. Gordon Haskett downgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to an “accumulate” rating and set a $775.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Tigress Financial raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $745.00 to $870.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $760.00 to $805.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and set a $680.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of 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 assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $694.48.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $722.86, for a total transaction of $567,445.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,228,600. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,695 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,785,786.85. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction of $567,445.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,228,600. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 3,727 shares of company stock valued at $2,682,948. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.