Summit Financial LLC Boosts Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Summit Financial LLC grew its position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 3.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 27,916 shares of the retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 986 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale makes up approximately 0.9% of Summit Financial LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest holding. Summit Financial LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $25,579,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 250.0% during the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 35 shares of the retailer's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Collier Financial acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Barrett & Company Inc. grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 59.3% in the 4th quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 43 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 16 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on COST. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,150.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Loop Capital cut their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,135.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $1,075.00 target price (up previously from $980.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Raymond James increased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $990.00 to $1,030.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,029.00.

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Costco Wholesale Stock Up 1.3 %

COST stock traded up $12.26 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $977.34. 1,748,399 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,944,604. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $988.67 and its 200 day moving average price is $947.48. The stock has a market cap of $433.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.39, a P/E/G ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.82. Costco Wholesale Co. has a fifty-two week low of $697.27 and a fifty-two week high of $1,078.24.

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 return on equity of 32.31% and a net margin of 2.93%. The company had revenue of $63.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $63.02 billion. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were given a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is currently 27.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the company's 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 41,077 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,242,687. This represents a 8.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Gary Millerchip sold 1,100 shares of the business'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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 11,165 shares in the company, 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 5,600 shares of company stock worth $5,215,915. 0.18% of the stock is owned by 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.