Talon Private Wealth LLC Takes Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Talon Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 283 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $259,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Connors Investor Services Inc. lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Connors Investor Services Inc. now owns 19,072 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $17,475,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Bridgewealth Advisory Group LLC raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 48.8% during the fourth quarter. Bridgewealth Advisory Group LLC now owns 915 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $838,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Voleon Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at about $388,000. Evergreen Wealth Solutions LLC grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 13.2% in the 4th quarter. Evergreen Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 1,226 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,123,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the period. Finally, Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 168.7% during the 4th quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 1,056 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $968,000 after purchasing an additional 663 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $931.00, for a total value of $3,351,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 41,077 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,242,687. This trade represents a 8.06 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $981.07, for a total value of $3,924,280.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now 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. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 9,600 shares of company stock worth $9,140,195. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock opened at $999.04 on Friday. 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 50-day moving average of $962.39 and a 200-day moving average of $958.15. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52-week low of $720.63 and a 52-week high of $1,078.24. The stock has a market cap of $443.26 billion, a PE ratio of 58.66, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.95.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 32.31%. The business had revenue of $63.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $63.02 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd will be issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 2nd. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is 30.36%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

COST has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, March 7th. Mizuho started coverage on Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, April 11th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $975.00 price target on the stock. 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 research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $1,100.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Monday. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,024.03.

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.