Sovereign Financial Group Inc. Has $1.63 Million Stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Sovereign Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,727 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 12 shares during the period. Sovereign Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,634,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in COST. Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 250.0% in the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 35 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Collier Financial acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Barrett & Company Inc. increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 59.3% in the fourth quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 43 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on COST shares. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, March 7th. Barclays increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Mizuho initiated coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, April 11th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $975.00 price objective for the company. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,035.32.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,987 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,445,926.72. This trade represents a 11.41% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $981.07, for a total transaction of $3,924,280.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 43,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $43,161,193.58. The trade was a 8.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 9,600 shares of company stock valued at $9,140,195. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock opened at $1,014.94 on Friday. 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 fifty-two week low of $793.00 and a fifty-two week high of $1,078.24. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $993.68 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $979.31. The company has a market cap of $450.31 billion, a PE ratio of 59.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 1.00.

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

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.51%. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 2nd. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.50%.

Costco Wholesale 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.