Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Bought by Tower Research Capital LLC TRC

Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 141.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 41,501 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 24,310 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale comprises about 0.8% of Tower Research Capital LLC TRC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest position. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $38,026,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in COST. Transce3nd LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $402,000. Trajan Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 8.7% during the fourth quarter. Trajan Wealth LLC now owns 38,394 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $35,179,000 after purchasing an additional 3,075 shares during the period. Landing Point Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth $213,000. MML Investors Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 7.4% in the 4th quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 108,238 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $99,175,000 after buying an additional 7,422 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 136,831 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $125,374,000 after buying an additional 1,354 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock opened at $994.50 on Friday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a twelve month low of $706.17 and a twelve month high of $1,078.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.98. The firm has a market cap of $441.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.95. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $975.99 and its 200-day simple moving average is $952.83.

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

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd will be paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.52%. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 2nd. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.09%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on COST. DA Davidson upped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, March 7th. Loop Capital dropped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,045.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,035.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,024.03.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $931.00, for a total transaction of $3,351,600.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 41,077 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,242,687. This represents a 8.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of Costco Wholesale 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $6,445,926.72. This represents a 11.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 5,600 shares of company stock valued at $5,215,915. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.