Traynor Capital Management Inc. Has $1.38 Million Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Traynor Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 17.9% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 2,089 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 317 shares during the period. Traynor Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,379,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in COST. Richelieu Gestion SA acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Steph & Co. raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 42.3% in the third quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 74 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the period. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at about $49,000. Finally, Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 888.9% during the third quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 89 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.1 %

NASDAQ COST traded up $0.55 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $732.63. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,711,632 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,158,359. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $724.29 and a 200-day simple moving average of $642.61. The stock has a market cap of $324.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.90, a P/E/G ratio of 5.07 and a beta of 0.77. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52 week low of $476.75 and a 52 week high of $787.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.43.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.62 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $58.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $59.11 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.73% and a return on equity of 28.80%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.30 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 2nd were issued a dividend of $1.02 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 1st. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.56%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 26.68%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Tigress Financial raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $745.00 to $870.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $610.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $693.00 to $741.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 21st. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $615.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 15th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $750.00 to $785.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $668.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $714.83, for a total transaction of $1,072,245.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,695 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,785,786.85. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,400 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $662.30, for a total value of $927,220.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 13,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,220,540.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $714.83, for a total transaction of $1,072,245.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,785,786.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 15,582 shares of company stock worth $10,736,778. 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.