Ewing Morris & Co. Investment Partners Ltd. Makes New Investment in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Ewing Morris & Co. Investment Partners Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 2,466 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $2,260,000.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fiduciary Trust Co boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Fiduciary Trust Co now owns 43,204 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $39,587,000 after purchasing an additional 1,596 shares during the period. FWL Investment Management LLC grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 7.2% in the 4th quarter. FWL Investment Management LLC now owns 3,084 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,825,000 after purchasing an additional 208 shares during the last quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 19.3% in the fourth quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. now owns 6,856 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $6,282,000 after purchasing an additional 1,110 shares during the period. Cladis Investment Advisory LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Cladis Investment Advisory LLC now owns 2,341 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,145,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Coastal Bridge Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 7.9% during the fourth quarter. Coastal Bridge Advisors LLC now owns 1,428 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,308,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

COST has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Mizuho started coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, April 11th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $975.00 price target on the stock. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $935.00 to $995.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Cfra Research raised Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,024.03.

Insider Activity

In other Costco Wholesale news, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $38,242,687. This represents a 8.06 % 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 James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 43,994 shares in the company, valued at $43,161,193.58. This trade represents a 8.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 9,600 shares of company stock worth $9,140,195. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.0 %

COST stock opened at $1,007.42 on Friday. 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 firm has a market cap of $446.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 59.16, a P/E/G ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 1.00. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1-year low of $763.61 and a 1-year high of $1,078.24. The business’s 50 day moving average is $959.25 and its 200-day moving average is $962.32.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued 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 company had revenue of $63.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $63.02 billion. Equities analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share 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. 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.52%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.36%.

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.