Semper Augustus Investments Group LLC Boosts Stock Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Semper Augustus Investments Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,350 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale makes up approximately 0.7% of Semper Augustus Investments Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 19th biggest position. Semper Augustus Investments Group LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $3,986,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC boosted 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 stake in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Collier Financial purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Barrett & Company Inc. raised its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 16 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

NASDAQ COST opened at $1,010.47 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $959.56 and its 200-day moving average price is $966.17. Costco Wholesale Co. has a fifty-two week low of $787.83 and a fifty-two week high of $1,078.24. The company has a market cap of $448.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 59.33, a P/E/G ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.98.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $63.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $63.02 billion. Sell-side analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 2nd will be issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.51%. This is an increase 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 presently 30.36%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Cfra Research raised Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,035.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Loop Capital lowered their target price on shares of 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. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,024.03.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $922.56, for a total transaction of $830,304.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,987 shares in the company, valued at $6,445,926.72. The trade was a 11.41% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available 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 shares were sold at an average price of $981.07, for a total value of $3,924,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 9,600 shares of company stock valued at $9,140,195 in the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company 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.