Wealth Dimensions Group Ltd. Makes New Investment in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Wealth Dimensions Group Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 379 shares of the retailer's stock, valued at approximately $348,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of COST. Morse Asset Management Inc raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 20.1% in the 3rd quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc now owns 7,481 shares of the retailer's stock worth $6,632,000 after purchasing an additional 1,254 shares during the period. Anchor Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 7,996 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $7,088,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares during the last quarter. Fulcrum Equity Management increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 76.8% in the 3rd quarter. Fulcrum Equity Management now owns 633 shares of the retailer's stock worth $561,000 after purchasing an additional 275 shares in the last quarter. Eaton Financial Holdings Company LLC purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the third quarter worth $216,000. Finally, Sculati Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.3% during the third quarter. Sculati Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,649 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $3,235,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $922.56, for a total transaction of $830,304.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,987 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,445,926.72. The trade was a 11.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $931.00, for a total transaction of $3,351,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 41,077 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $38,242,687. The trade was a 8.06 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 9,600 shares of company stock valued at $9,140,195 over the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on COST. Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and set a $1,100.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target 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. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,035.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,024.03.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

NASDAQ:COST traded down $0.36 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $975.48. The stock had a trading volume of 2,465,409 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,028,110. The stock has a market capitalization of $432.80 billion, a PE ratio of 57.28, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.95. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52 week low of $714.41 and a 52 week high of $1,078.24. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $969.97 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $954.22. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $63.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $63.02 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 2nd will be given a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.53%. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.36%.

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.