Virtu Financial LLC Increases Stock Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Virtu Financial LLC raised its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 289.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,136 shares of the retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 12,736 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale makes up approximately 0.8% of Virtu Financial LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position. Virtu Financial LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $15,701,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in COST. Cromwell Holdings LLC raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 1,144 shares of the retailer's stock worth $1,048,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. 44 Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. 44 Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,488 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $3,196,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. SRN Advisors LLC raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. SRN Advisors LLC now owns 3,081 shares of the retailer's stock worth $2,823,000 after buying an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Miramar Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Miramar Capital LLC now owns 525 shares of the retailer's stock worth $481,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the period. Finally, Clear Investment Research LLC boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 22.2% during the 4th quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 55 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.5 %

NASDAQ COST traded up $4.22 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $930.26. The stock had a trading volume of 1,621,482 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,823,339. The stock has a market capitalization of $412.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.62, a P/E/G ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.82. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $987.58 and a 200 day simple moving average of $945.73. Costco Wholesale Co. has a one year low of $697.27 and a one year 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.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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). The business had revenue of $63.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $63.02 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 32.31% and a net margin of 2.93%. Sell-side analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is presently 27.09%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on COST. Barclays increased their target price 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 raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,090.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, March 7th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,029.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Costco Wholesale news, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were 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 directly owns 41,077 shares in the company, valued at $38,242,687. This represents a 8.06 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.18% of the stock is currently 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.