Canopy Partners LLC Grows Stock Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Canopy Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 17.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,242 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 332 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale makes up 0.8% of Canopy Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Canopy Partners LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $2,054,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of COST. Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 250.0% in the 4th quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 35 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Collier Financial bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Barrett & Company Inc. lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 59.3% during the fourth quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 43 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 16 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Gary Millerchip sold 1,100 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $940.01, for a total transaction of $1,034,011.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,495,211.65. The trade was a 8.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the business’s 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $38,242,687. This represents a 8.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 5,600 shares of company stock valued at $5,215,915 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on COST. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Roth Mkm upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $755.00 to $907.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $1,060.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $1,100.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,029.00.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

COST opened at $916.48 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $406.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.82, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.95. Costco Wholesale Co. has a twelve month low of $702.00 and a twelve month high of $1,078.24. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $988.70 and a 200 day simple moving average of $948.42.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.09 by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $63.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $63.02 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 32.31% and a net margin of 2.93%. Equities research analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were given a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is presently 27.09%.

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.