Rench Wealth Management Inc. Increases Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Rench Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 4.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,378 shares of the retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 322 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale accounts for about 2.3% of Rench Wealth Management Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Rench Wealth Management Inc.'s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $6,760,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Morse Asset Management Inc increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 20.1% in the 3rd quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc now owns 7,481 shares of the retailer's stock worth $6,632,000 after acquiring an additional 1,254 shares in the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 7,996 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $7,088,000 after buying an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. Fulcrum Equity Management boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 76.8% in the third quarter. Fulcrum Equity Management now owns 633 shares of the retailer's stock worth $561,000 after acquiring an additional 275 shares in the last quarter. Eaton Financial Holdings Company LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the third quarter worth $216,000. Finally, Sculati Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.3% during the third quarter. Sculati Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,649 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $3,235,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on COST. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Cfra Research upgraded Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Mizuho started coverage on Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, April 11th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $975.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,035.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,024.03.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Gary Millerchip sold 1,100 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was 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 owns 11,165 shares in the company, valued at $10,495,211.65. This trade represents a 8.97 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 41,077 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,242,687. The trade was a 8.06 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 5,600 shares of company stock valued at $5,215,915. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 2.8 %

COST stock traded up $26.75 during trading on Friday, hitting $994.50. 2,705,128 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,016,803. The firm has a market capitalization of $441.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.40, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.95. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1 year low of $702.00 and a 1 year high of $1,078.24. 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 business has a fifty day simple moving average of $975.99 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $952.32.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd will be given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 2nd. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is currently 27.09%.

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.