Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Purchased by Hoey Investments Inc.

Hoey Investments Inc. grew its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 70.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 753 shares of the retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 310 shares during the period. Hoey Investments Inc.'s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $690,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in COST. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,201,610 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $38,668,069,000 after buying an additional 455,043 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,487,057 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $8,380,648,000 after purchasing an additional 162,191 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth $5,182,316,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 3,077,905 shares of the retailer's stock worth $2,820,193,000 after purchasing an additional 43,414 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,899,904 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $2,657,095,000 after buying an additional 91,649 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company's stock.

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Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

NASDAQ COST traded up $12.26 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $977.34. The company had a trading volume of 1,748,399 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,944,604. The business has a 50 day moving average of $988.67 and a 200-day moving average of $947.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.98. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1-year low of $697.27 and a 1-year high of $1,078.24. The company has a market cap of $433.63 billion, a PE ratio of 57.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.82.

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

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio is currently 27.09%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of 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. Oppenheimer restated an "outperform" rating and set a $1,075.00 price target (up from $980.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. UBS Group raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $840.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Loop Capital cut their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,135.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,029.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 stock was 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 owns 41,077 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $38,242,687. The trade was a 8.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,987 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,445,926.72. This represents a 11.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 5,600 shares of company stock valued at $5,215,915. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

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.