Burling Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 4,297 shares of the retailer's stock, valued at approximately $3,937,000.
Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,201,610 shares of the retailer's stock worth $38,668,069,000 after acquiring an additional 455,043 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,739,175 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $8,901,249,000 after purchasing an additional 252,118 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,457,824 shares of the retailer's stock worth $8,665,921,000 after purchasing an additional 149,209 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth approximately $5,182,316,000. Finally, Capital World Investors increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,990,957 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $3,656,828,000 after purchasing an additional 18,897 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale
In other news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $922.56, for a total transaction of $830,304.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,987 shares in the company, valued at $6,445,926.72. This trade represents a 11.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Gary Millerchip sold 1,100 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,165 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,495,211.65. This trade represents a 8.97 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 9,600 shares of company stock worth $9,140,195 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.
Costco Wholesale Stock Down 0.3 %
NASDAQ COST opened at $975.84 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $969.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $954.22. 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 company has a market cap of $432.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.30, a P/E/G ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.95. Costco Wholesale Co. has a one year low of $714.41 and a one year high of $1,078.24.
Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last issued its 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $63.02 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 32.31%. Research analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd will be paid a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.53%. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 2nd. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.36%.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on COST. Cfra Research raised shares of Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, March 7th. Barclays lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and set a $1,100.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,024.03.
Read Our Latest Analysis on COST
About Costco Wholesale
(
Free Report)
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.
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Want to see what other hedge funds are holding COST? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report).
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