Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Purchased by MGO One Seven LLC

MGO One Seven LLC grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 21.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 17,072 shares of the retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 3,071 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale comprises about 0.6% of MGO One Seven LLC's holdings, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. MGO One Seven LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $15,643,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Pinebridge Investments L.P. grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 12.2% in the fourth quarter. Pinebridge Investments L.P. now owns 50,180 shares of the retailer's stock worth $45,978,000 after purchasing an additional 5,465 shares during the period. Alta Advisers Ltd boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 21.8% in the 4th quarter. Alta Advisers Ltd now owns 1,461 shares of the retailer's stock worth $1,339,000 after purchasing an additional 261 shares in the last quarter. Harvest Investment Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 104.7% in the 4th quarter. Harvest Investment Services LLC now owns 6,512 shares of the retailer's stock worth $5,967,000 after buying an additional 3,330 shares during the last quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG now owns 44,184 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $40,495,000 after buying an additional 1,428 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Optivise Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Optivise Advisory Services LLC now owns 597 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $547,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $981.07, for a total value of $3,924,280.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 43,994 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $43,161,193.58. The trade was a 8.33 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $931.00, for a total transaction of $3,351,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 41,077 shares of the company's stock, valued at $38,242,687. The trade was a 8.06 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 9,600 shares of company stock valued at $9,140,195 over the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of COST stock traded up $1.68 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $977.16. The company had a trading volume of 1,779,952 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,032,485. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12-month low of $715.00 and a 12-month high of $1,078.24. The company has a market capitalization of $433.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.38, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.98. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $968.04 and a 200-day moving average of $954.92.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last issued its 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 return on equity of 32.31% and a net margin of 2.93%. The company had revenue of $63.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $63.02 billion. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 2nd will be given a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.53%. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 2nd. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio is presently 30.36%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

COST has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Barclays lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. DA Davidson upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Loop Capital reduced their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,045.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, 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 report on Friday, March 7th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,024.03.

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.