10Elms LLP Invests $147,000 in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

10Elms LLP bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm bought 160 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $147,000.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,201,610 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $38,668,069,000 after acquiring an additional 455,043 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,739,175 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $8,901,249,000 after purchasing an additional 252,118 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,457,824 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $8,665,921,000 after purchasing an additional 149,209 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth approximately $5,182,316,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 12.6% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,257,809 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,817,573,000 after purchasing an additional 587,303 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of COST stock opened at $1,036.82 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.43. The company has a market capitalization of $460.02 billion, a PE ratio of 60.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 1.00. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $966.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $969.95. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12 month low of $788.20 and a 12 month high of $1,078.24.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.09 by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $63.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $63.02 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 32.31% and a net margin of 2.93%. Analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.50%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.36%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

COST has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Loop Capital cut their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,045.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $1,100.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Monday, May 5th. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,035.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Ten investment 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.com, Costco Wholesale has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,024.03.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Gary Millerchip sold 1,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $940.01, for a total value of $1,034,011.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 11,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,495,211.65. This represents a 8.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $981.07, for a total transaction of $3,924,280.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 43,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $43,161,193.58. This represents a 8.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 9,600 shares of company stock worth $9,140,195 over the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.