Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Position Boosted by Fiducient Advisors LLC

Fiducient Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 395.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,456 shares of the retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 1,162 shares during the quarter. Fiducient Advisors LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,334,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 250.0% during the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 35 shares of the retailer's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Collier Financial purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Barrett & Company Inc. boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 59.3% in the 4th quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 43 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 2.8 %

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock traded up $26.75 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $994.50. The company had a trading volume of 2,705,128 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,013,565. The company's 50-day moving average is $978.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $950.76. Costco Wholesale Co. has a twelve month low of $702.00 and a twelve month high of $1,078.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.43. The company has a market cap of $441.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.95.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.09 by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $63.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $63.02 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 32.31% and a net margin of 2.93%. Analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the business's 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 41,077 shares of the company's stock, valued at $38,242,687. The trade was a 8.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $922.56, for a total transaction of $830,304.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,987 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,445,926.72. This represents a 11.41 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 5,600 shares of company stock valued at $5,215,915 in the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on COST shares. Loop Capital reduced their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,045.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $1,060.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective 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. Stifel Nicolaus lowered 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 research note on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Ten 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, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,024.03.

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.