Algert Global LLC Grows Stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Algert Global LLC increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 6.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,959 shares of the retailer's stock after buying an additional 499 shares during the quarter. Algert Global LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $7,293,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Collier Financial acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Barrett & Company Inc. lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 59.3% during the 4th quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 43 shares of the retailer's stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

COST has been the subject of several recent research reports. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Truist Financial raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $935.00 to $995.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,024.03.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $922.56, for a total value of $830,304.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,987 shares in the company, valued at $6,445,926.72. The trade was a 11.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of Costco Wholesale 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 owns 43,994 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $43,161,193.58. The trade was a 8.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 9,600 shares of company stock valued at $9,140,195 in the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

NASDAQ:COST traded down $4.00 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $1,006.50. 1,315,647 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,029,139. The firm has a market cap of $446.57 billion, a PE ratio of 59.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 1.00. The stock's 50-day moving average is $960.88 and its 200-day moving average is $961.18. Costco Wholesale Co. has a twelve month low of $762.71 and a twelve month high of $1,078.24. 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 (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last announced 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). The firm had revenue of $63.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $63.02 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 32.31%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

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