EFG Asset Management North America Corp. Purchases 591 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

EFG Asset Management North America Corp. increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 9.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,099 shares of the retailer's stock after buying an additional 591 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale accounts for approximately 0.9% of EFG Asset Management North America Corp.'s holdings, making the stock its 19th biggest position. EFG Asset Management North America Corp.'s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $6,506,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Modern Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 66.7% in the 4th quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,440 shares of the retailer's stock worth $6,817,000 after buying an additional 2,978 shares in the last quarter. CoreFirst Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth $591,000. Prudential Financial Inc. boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 386,380 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $354,028,000 after purchasing an additional 983 shares during the last quarter. Hirtle Callaghan & Co LLC grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 13.6% in the fourth quarter. Hirtle Callaghan & Co LLC now owns 767 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $703,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Interchange Capital Partners LLC increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Interchange Capital Partners LLC now owns 988 shares of the retailer's stock worth $905,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 $38,242,687. This represents a 8.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly 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. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

NASDAQ COST traded up $12.13 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $941.88. 696,302 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,819,533. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $987.96 and a 200-day moving average of $946.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. Costco Wholesale Co. has a one year low of $697.27 and a one year high of $1,078.24. The stock has a market cap of $417.89 billion, a PE ratio of 55.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.82.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last announced its 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). 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%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were given a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.49%. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is 27.09%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

COST has been the subject of several recent research reports. Raymond James boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $990.00 to $1,030.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. DA Davidson raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $1,060.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,029.00.

Costco Wholesale 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.