Clarius Group LLC Purchases 1,284 Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Clarius Group LLC increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 17.4% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 8,661 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,284 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale makes up approximately 0.5% of Clarius Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Clarius Group LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $8,191,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock opened at $977.72 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $1,002.19 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $981.16. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 12-month low of $793.00 and a 12-month high of $1,078.24. The firm has a market cap of $433.60 billion, a PE ratio of 55.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.04. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 30.48%. The company had revenue of $63.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $62.93 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.78 earnings per share. Costco Wholesale’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Corporation 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were issued a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.53%. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.50%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Loop Capital decreased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,110.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,060.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $995.00 to $1,042.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,034.79.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 approximately $6,445,926.72. This represents a 11.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly 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. In the last three months, insiders have sold 11,000 shares of company stock worth $10,825,205. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by 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.