Optimize Financial Inc Acquires New Shares in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Optimize Financial Inc bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 535 shares of the retailer's stock, valued at approximately $490,000.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in COST. Morse Asset Management Inc grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 20.1% during the third quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc now owns 7,481 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $6,632,000 after buying an additional 1,254 shares during the period. Anchor Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.0% during 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 in the last quarter. Fulcrum Equity Management grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 76.8% in the third quarter. Fulcrum Equity Management now owns 633 shares of the retailer's stock worth $561,000 after purchasing an additional 275 shares during the period. Eaton Financial Holdings Company LLC bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the third quarter valued at $216,000. Finally, Sculati Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Sculati Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,649 shares of the retailer's stock worth $3,235,000 after buying an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on COST shares. Loop Capital reduced their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,045.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Mizuho started coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday. They set a "neutral" rating and a $975.00 price objective for the company. Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,024.03.

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Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Gary Millerchip sold 1,100 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 11,165 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,495,211.65. This trade represents a 8.97 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 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 value of $3,351,600.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 41,077 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,242,687. This trade represents a 8.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 5,600 shares of company stock worth $5,215,915 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of COST traded up $15.91 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $979.32. The stock had a trading volume of 2,218,559 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,006,426. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $982.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $949.81. Costco Wholesale Co. has a fifty-two week low of $702.00 and a fifty-two week high of $1,078.24. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $434.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.51, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.95.

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

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

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

Costco Wholesale Company 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.