Wedmont Private Capital Purchases 356 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Wedmont Private Capital boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 6.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,821 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 356 shares during the period. Wedmont Private Capital’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $5,608,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 106,402.1% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,160,190 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,717,744,000 after purchasing an additional 8,152,528 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $5,182,316,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 74,796.3% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,521,893 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,394,465,000 after buying an additional 1,519,861 shares during the last quarter. Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth approximately $95,452,000. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 100,422.3% during the fourth quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 796,137 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $729,476,000 after buying an additional 795,345 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on COST shares. Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,225.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $995.00 to $1,042.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,035.32.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of the 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 $43,161,193.58. This represents a 8.33% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,987 shares of the company’s stock, 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. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 9,600 shares of company stock valued at $9,140,195. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

NASDAQ:COST opened at $1,014.94 on Friday. 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 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 Co. has a 12 month low of $793.00 and a 12 month high of $1,078.24. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $993.68 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $979.66.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its 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 business had revenue of $63.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $62.93 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 32.31% and a net margin of 2.93%. Costco Wholesale’s revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.78 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were paid a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.51%. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is currently 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.