Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Purchased by Pines Wealth Management LLC

Pines Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,932 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 14 shares during the period. Pines Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,756,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC lifted its holdings in 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 last quarter. Collier Financial acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Barrett & Company Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 59.3% in the 4th 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 last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

COST has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Mizuho began coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, April 11th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $975.00 price objective for the company. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, March 7th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,035.32.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 43,994 shares in the company, valued at $43,161,193.58. The trade was a 8.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 41,077 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $38,242,687. This trade represents a 8.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 9,600 shares of company stock worth $9,140,195. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.4%

COST stock opened at $1,014.94 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $450.31 billion, a PE ratio of 59.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a fifty day moving average of $993.68 and a 200-day moving average of $979.31. 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 Co. has a one year low of $793.00 and a one year high of $1,078.24.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $63.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $62.93 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 32.31% and a net margin of 2.93%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.78 EPS. As a group, analysts expect 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 was paid on Friday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were issued a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 2nd. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.51%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.50%.

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.