Ameriprise Financial Inc. Buys 5,749 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 0.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,517,467 shares of the retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 5,749 shares during the quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned 0.34% of Costco Wholesale worth $1,389,003,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 250.0% during the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 35 shares of the retailer's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Collier Financial purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Barrett & Company Inc. raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 59.3% during the 4th quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 43 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $38,242,687. This trade represents a 8.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $922.56, for a total transaction of $830,304.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,987 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,445,926.72. This represents a 11.41 % 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 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

NASDAQ COST traded up $6.59 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $1,014.89. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,950,563 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,033,033. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12 month low of $746.48 and a 12 month high of $1,078.24. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $961.10 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $960.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.43. The company has a market cap of $450.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 59.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.95.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.09 by ($0.07). Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 32.31% and a net margin of 2.93%. The company had revenue of $63.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $63.02 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd will be paid a $1.30 dividend. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 2nd. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.36%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on COST shares. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,035.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Cfra Research upgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. Mizuho began coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, April 11th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $975.00 target price for the company. Loop Capital reduced their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,045.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,024.03.

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.