Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Purchases 1,217 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 2.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 54,717 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,217 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $50,405,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the third quarter worth $29,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 250.0% during the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 35 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Collier Financial bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of COST opened at $904.05 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $988.75 and its 200 day moving average is $944.83. The company has a market capitalization of $401.31 billion, a PE ratio of 53.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.82. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12-month low of $697.27 and a 12-month high of $1,078.24. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.09 by ($0.07). The business had revenue of $63.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $63.02 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 32.31%. Research analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.09%.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $931.00, for a total value of $3,351,600.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 41,077 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $38,242,687. The trade was a 8.06 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

COST has been the subject of several analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $1,075.00 price objective (up from $980.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $1,100.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,030.43.

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.