Whelan Financial Acquires 63 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Whelan Financial grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 12.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 579 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale comprises about 0.2% of Whelan Financial’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. Whelan Financial’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $382,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. United Bank grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 9.2% in the first quarter. United Bank now owns 5,254 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,026,000 after acquiring an additional 444 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 33.6% in the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 383,691 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $220,948,000 after acquiring an additional 96,566 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 87.1% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 232 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $134,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the period. Bridgefront Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the first quarter worth $333,000. Finally, Next Century Growth Investors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.9% in the first quarter. Next Century Growth Investors LLC now owns 3,414 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,965,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:COST traded up $0.55 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $732.63. The stock had a trading volume of 1,711,632 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,158,359. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The company has a market cap of $324.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.07 and a beta of 0.77. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1 year low of $476.75 and a 1 year high of $787.08. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $724.29 and its 200 day moving average price is $642.61.

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. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 28.80% and a net margin of 2.73%. The business had revenue of $58.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $59.11 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.30 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on COST shares. DA Davidson boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $570.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 15th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $612.00 to $700.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $665.00 to $749.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $610.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 8th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $668.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Caton Frates sold 740 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $683.50, for a total transaction of $505,790.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,721 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,593,803.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Caton Frates sold 740 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $683.50, for a total transaction of $505,790.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,721 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,593,803.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $714.83, for a total value of $1,072,245.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,695 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,785,786.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 15,582 shares of company stock worth $10,736,778 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.