BIP Alliance LLC Invests $229,000 in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

BIP Alliance LLC bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 250 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $229,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 250.0% during 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. acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Collier Financial bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Barrett & Company Inc. raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 59.3% during the fourth quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 43 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 43,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,161,193.58. This represents a 8.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 9,600 shares of company stock valued at $9,140,195 in the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on COST shares. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Wednesday. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,024.03.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Costco Wholesale stock opened at $1,018.13 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $451.73 billion, a PE ratio of 59.78, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1 year low of $788.20 and a 1 year high of $1,078.24. The company’s 50-day moving average is $971.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is $971.25.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $63.02 billion. Equities analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.51%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is presently 30.36%.

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.