Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Stock Position Raised by Zacks Investment Management

Zacks Investment Management lifted its position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 38,633 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 297 shares during the quarter. Zacks Investment Management’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $35,398,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 84,274 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $77,217,000 after buying an additional 1,687 shares during the period. Everest Management Corp. bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at $378,000. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,334 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,222,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 68.5% in the fourth quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 3,841 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,519,000 after purchasing an additional 1,561 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stenger Family Office LLC bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at about $3,903,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ COST opened at $976.92 on Wednesday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a one year low of $702.00 and a one year high of $1,078.24. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $980.13 and its 200-day moving average price is $950.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $433.44 billion, a PE ratio of 57.36, a P/E/G ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.43.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 32.31%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were given a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.47%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is currently 27.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Gary Millerchip sold 1,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $940.01, for a total value of $1,034,011.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,495,211.65. This represents a 8.97 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $922.56, for a total value of $830,304.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,987 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,445,926.72. The trade was a 11.41 % 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 valued at $5,215,915 over the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

COST has been the subject of several recent research reports. Barclays increased their price target 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. Citigroup raised their target price 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. Mizuho assumed coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, April 11th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $975.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,024.03.

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.