Stonegate Investment Group LLC Boosts Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Stonegate Investment Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 83,995 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 101 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale comprises about 1.9% of Stonegate Investment Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 16th biggest position. Stonegate Investment Group LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $61,537,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Richelieu Gestion SA purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 200.0% in the fourth quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 45 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the first quarter worth about $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of COST stock traded down $3.43 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $722.90. 1,734,041 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,045,451. The company has a market capitalization of $320.61 billion, a PE ratio of 47.28, a PEG ratio of 4.86 and a beta of 0.77. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12-month low of $476.75 and a 12-month high of $787.08. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $730.40 and its 200-day simple moving average is $669.72. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.62 by $0.09. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.73% and a return on equity of 28.80%. The firm had revenue of $58.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $59.11 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.30 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors of record on Friday, April 26th will be paid a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.64%. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 25th. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is presently 30.35%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $630.00 to $710.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Tigress Financial raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $745.00 to $870.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $760.00 to $805.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $610.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $694.48.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, 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 value of $1,072,245.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,785,786.85. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, 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 value of $1,072,245.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,785,786.85. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $723.48, for a total transaction of $1,043,258.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 12,395 shares in the company, valued at $8,967,534.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 3,727 shares of company stock valued at $2,682,948 over the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company 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.