National Wealth Management Group LLC Raises Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

National Wealth Management Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 426.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,252 shares of the retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 1,014 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale makes up about 0.8% of National Wealth Management Group LLC's holdings, making the stock its 29th biggest position. National Wealth Management Group LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,147,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of COST. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $8,430,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 15.0% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,662 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $7,020,000 after buying an additional 1,001 shares in the last quarter. Dale Q Rice Investment Management Ltd bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at $984,000. Stanich Group LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth $214,000. Finally, Everence Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 15.4% during the fourth quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. now owns 11,913 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $10,916,000 after acquiring an additional 1,590 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $922.56, for a total transaction of $830,304.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,987 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,445,926.72. This trade represents a 11.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Gary Millerchip sold 1,100 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $940.01, for a total value of $1,034,011.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 11,165 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,495,211.65. This represents a 8.97 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 5,600 shares of company stock valued at $5,215,915. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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Costco Wholesale Price Performance

COST stock traded up $3.16 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $968.24. 2,360,375 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,169,688. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $429.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.74, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.82. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $988.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $947.48. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12 month low of $702.00 and a 12 month high of $1,078.23.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 EPS 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 analysts' expectations of $63.02 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 32.31% and a net margin of 2.93%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.48%. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is 27.09%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on COST. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,145.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Robert W. Baird increased 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. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target 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. Roth Mkm increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $755.00 to $907.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective 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. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale has an average 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.