Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Acquired by Biltmore Family Office LLC

Biltmore Family Office LLC lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 28.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,290 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 283 shares during the period. Biltmore Family Office LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,182,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of COST. United Bank raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 7.5% during the third quarter. United Bank now owns 5,962 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,285,000 after purchasing an additional 416 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 182.1% during the third quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 409 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $363,000 after acquiring an additional 264 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the third quarter worth about $7,203,000. Ingalls & Snyder LLC boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 11.8% in the third quarter. Ingalls & Snyder LLC now owns 1,709 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,515,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the period. Finally, Motley Fool Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC now owns 36,695 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,195,000 after purchasing an additional 379 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock opened at $965.08 on Thursday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12-month low of $697.27 and a 12-month high of $1,078.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $428.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.67, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $988.67 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $947.48.

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

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were given a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.09%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

COST has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $1,100.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Barclays raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,035.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Loop Capital lowered their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,135.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,029.00.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $922.56, for a total value of $830,304.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,987 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,445,926.72. This represents a 11.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were 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 directly owns 41,077 shares in the company, valued at $38,242,687. The trade was a 8.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 5,600 shares of company stock worth $5,215,915 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.