PKS Advisory Services LLC Takes $952,000 Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

PKS Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 1,039 shares of the retailer's stock, valued at approximately $952,000.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,201,610 shares of the retailer's stock worth $38,668,069,000 after purchasing an additional 455,043 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings 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 worth $8,380,648,000 after buying an additional 162,191 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,308,615 shares of the retailer's stock worth $8,252,274,000 after buying an additional 324,973 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 3,077,905 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $2,820,193,000 after buying an additional 43,414 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 2.3% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,075,065 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $2,726,107,000 after acquiring an additional 70,561 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company's stock.

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Costco Wholesale Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock traded down $9.09 during trading on Friday, hitting $929.66. 2,099,737 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,941,143. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1-year low of $697.27 and a 1-year high of $1,078.24. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $412.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.82. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $988.07 and its 200 day moving average price is $946.18.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $63.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $63.02 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.50%. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.09%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on COST. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,090.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $1,060.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $1,100.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,029.00.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In related news, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the firm's 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 41,077 shares in the company, valued at $38,242,687. This trade represents a 8.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Gary Millerchip sold 1,100 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $940.01, for a total transaction of $1,034,011.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,165 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,495,211.65. The trade was a 8.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 5,600 shares of company stock valued at $5,215,915 over the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.