Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Holdings Lifted by Prosperity Consulting Group LLC

Prosperity Consulting Group LLC grew its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 2.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,820 shares of the retailer's stock after buying an additional 312 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale accounts for about 0.8% of Prosperity Consulting Group LLC's holdings, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $10,831,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on COST. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,035.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Truist Financial raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $935.00 to $995.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and set a $1,100.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,024.03.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $922.56, for a total value of $830,304.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,987 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,445,926.72. This trade represents a 11.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $931.00, for a total transaction of $3,351,600.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 41,077 shares in the company, valued at $38,242,687. This trade represents a 8.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 9,600 shares of company stock valued at $9,140,195 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ COST traded up $1.68 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $977.16. 1,779,952 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,034,528. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52-week low of $715.32 and a 52-week high of $1,078.24. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $966.46 and a 200-day moving average price of $956.28. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The company has a market capitalization of $433.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.38, a P/E/G ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.95.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.09 by ($0.07). Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 32.31% and a net margin of 2.93%. The firm had revenue of $63.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $63.02 billion. Equities research analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd will be paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 2nd. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is currently 30.36%.

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.