Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC Purchases New Stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 8,263 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $7,571,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of COST. Cromwell Holdings LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 1,144 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,048,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. 44 Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. SRN Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. SRN Advisors LLC now owns 3,081 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,823,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Miramar Capital LLC boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Miramar Capital LLC now owns 525 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $481,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clear Investment Research LLC grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 22.2% in the fourth quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 55 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on COST. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $1,100.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Mizuho started coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, April 11th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $975.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Cfra Research raised Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,024.03.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,987 shares in the company, valued at $6,445,926.72. This trade represents a 11.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $981.07, for a total value of $3,924,280.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 43,994 shares in the company, valued at $43,161,193.58. This represents a 8.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 9,600 shares of company stock worth $9,140,195. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.2 %

COST stock opened at $977.16 on Monday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52 week low of $715.32 and a 52 week high of $1,078.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $966.46 and a 200-day simple moving average of $956.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $433.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.38, a P/E/G ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.95.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its 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). The firm had revenue of $63.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $63.02 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 32.31%. Equities analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

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

About Costco Wholesale

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.