Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Acquired by Mariner LLC

Mariner LLC lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 2.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 356,151 shares of the retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 9,032 shares during the quarter. Mariner LLC owned 0.08% of Costco Wholesale worth $326,341,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of COST. Morse Asset Management Inc lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 20.1% in the third quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc now owns 7,481 shares of the retailer's stock worth $6,632,000 after buying an additional 1,254 shares during the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.0% in the third quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 7,996 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $7,088,000 after acquiring an additional 157 shares during the period. Fulcrum Equity Management lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 76.8% in the 3rd quarter. Fulcrum Equity Management now owns 633 shares of the retailer's stock worth $561,000 after acquiring an additional 275 shares during the last quarter. Eaton Financial Holdings Company LLC purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 3rd quarter worth about $216,000. Finally, Sculati Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Sculati Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,649 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $3,235,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Remove Ads

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 1.7 %

NASDAQ:COST traded up $15.91 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $979.32. 2,218,559 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,006,427. The business has a 50-day moving average of $981.61 and a two-hundred day moving average of $950.46. 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 12-month low of $702.00 and a 12-month high of $1,078.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $434.51 billion, a PE ratio of 57.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.95.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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. On average, equities analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on COST. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on 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. Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on 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. Finally, Cfra Research upgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,024.03.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other news, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $931.00, for a total transaction of $3,351,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,987 shares in the company, valued at $6,445,926.72. This trade represents a 11.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 5,600 shares of company stock worth $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.