Chatham Capital Group Inc. Acquires 1,518 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Chatham Capital Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 84.3% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 3,319 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,518 shares during the period. Chatham Capital Group Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $3,139,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Capital & Planning LLC grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 28.7% during the 4th quarter. Capital & Planning LLC now owns 3,756 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,441,000 after purchasing an additional 837 shares in the last quarter. Redmond Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth about $1,214,000. May Barnhard Investments LLC bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth about $485,000. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. now owns 3,852 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,529,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 12.3% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 19,825 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $18,165,000 after acquiring an additional 2,172 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on COST shares. Robert W. Baird upped 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 report on Friday, March 7th. Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,100.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Tuesday. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, DA Davidson upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,035.32.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $931.00, for a total value of $3,351,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 41,077 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,242,687. The trade was a 8.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $922.56, for a total value of $830,304.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,987 shares in the company, valued at $6,445,926.72. The trade was a 11.41% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 9,600 shares of company stock valued at $9,140,195. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 0.4%

COST opened at $1,051.69 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.43. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12 month low of $793.00 and a 12 month high of $1,078.24. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $991.17 and a 200-day simple moving average of $978.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $466.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 61.76, a P/E/G ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 1.00.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $63.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $62.93 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 32.31% and a net margin of 2.93%. The firm’s revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.78 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were given a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 2nd. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.49%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.36%.

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.