Forum Financial Management LP Purchases 871 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Forum Financial Management LP increased its position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 21.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,916 shares of the retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 871 shares during the period. Forum Financial Management LP's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $4,504,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of COST. Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 250.0% during the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 35 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Collier Financial bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Barrett & Company Inc. increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 59.3% during the fourth quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 43 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 2.8 %

Costco Wholesale stock traded up $26.75 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $994.50. The stock had a trading volume of 2,705,128 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,016,146. The stock has a market cap of $441.24 billion, a PE ratio of 58.40, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $975.99 and a 200-day simple moving average of $952.83. 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 Co. has a 52 week low of $706.17 and a 52 week high of $1,078.24.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $63.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $63.02 billion. Analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 2nd will be paid a $1.30 dividend. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.52%. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.09%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on COST shares. Mizuho assumed coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, April 11th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $975.00 price objective for the company. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $1,100.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Evercore ISI upped their target price 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,024.03.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Gary Millerchip sold 1,100 shares of Costco Wholesale 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 11,165 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,495,211.65. This trade represents a 8.97 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 41,077 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,242,687. The trade was a 8.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 5,600 shares of company stock worth $5,215,915 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

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.