Blueprint Investment Partners LLC Acquires 661 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Blueprint Investment Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 37.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,411 shares of the retailer's stock after buying an additional 661 shares during the period. Blueprint Investment Partners LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $2,209,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,487,057 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $8,380,648,000 after acquiring an additional 162,191 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3.6% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,308,615 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $8,252,274,000 after acquiring an additional 324,973 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 3,077,905 shares of the retailer's stock worth $2,820,193,000 after acquiring an additional 43,414 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,075,065 shares of the retailer's stock worth $2,726,107,000 after buying an additional 70,561 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,899,904 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $2,657,095,000 after purchasing an additional 91,649 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.

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Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock traded down $0.51 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $929.75. 1,644,284 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,823,661. The company has a market cap of $412.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.59, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.98. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $987.84 and its 200 day moving average price is $946.11. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1-year low of $697.27 and a 1-year high of $1,078.24.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.09 by ($0.07). Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 32.31%. The firm had revenue of $63.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $63.02 billion. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share 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 issued a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.50%. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is currently 27.09%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the company's 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 41,077 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,242,687. This represents a 8.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of the business'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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,987 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on COST. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $840.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $1,060.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Barclays increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on 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, Roth Mkm lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $755.00 to $907.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,029.00.

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.