Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Bought by Rench Wealth Management Inc.

Rench Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 4.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,378 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 322 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale accounts for about 2.3% of Rench Wealth Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Rench Wealth Management Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $6,760,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cromwell Holdings LLC raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 1,144 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,048,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. 44 Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. 44 Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,488 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,196,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. SRN Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. SRN Advisors LLC now owns 3,081 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,823,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the period. Miramar Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Miramar Capital LLC now owns 525 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $481,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clear Investment Research LLC increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 22.2% in the 4th quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 55 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other 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 transaction of $830,304.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,987 shares in the company, valued at $6,445,926.72. This represents a 11.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Gary Millerchip sold 1,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $940.01, for a total transaction of $1,034,011.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 11,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,495,211.65. The trade was a 8.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 5,600 shares of company stock valued at $5,215,915 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 1.7 %

COST opened at $979.32 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $981.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $950.46. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52 week low of $702.00 and a 52 week high of $1,078.24. The firm has a market cap of $434.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.51, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23.

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 firm had revenue of $63.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $63.02 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 32.31% and a net margin of 2.93%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.09%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on COST shares. Mizuho began coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday. They set a “neutral” rating and a $975.00 price objective for the company. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, March 7th. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $1,060.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,024.03.

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.