Wick Capital Partners LLC Has $129.25 Million Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Wick Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 15,965.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 141,058 shares of the retailer's stock after buying an additional 140,180 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale makes up 22.1% of Wick Capital Partners LLC's holdings, making the stock its biggest position. Wick Capital Partners LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $129,247,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in COST. Morse Asset Management Inc raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 20.1% in the 3rd quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc now owns 7,481 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $6,632,000 after acquiring an additional 1,254 shares during the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 2.0% in the third quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 7,996 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $7,088,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares during the period. Fulcrum Equity Management boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 76.8% in the third quarter. Fulcrum Equity Management now owns 633 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $561,000 after purchasing an additional 275 shares during the period. Eaton Financial Holdings Company LLC purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the third quarter worth approximately $216,000. Finally, Sculati Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 0.3% in the third quarter. Sculati Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,649 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $3,235,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:COST traded up $9.26 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $1,008.30. 1,547,172 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,034,513. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.98. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $962.39 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $958.15. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52 week low of $733.35 and a 52 week high of $1,078.24. The company has a market cap of $447.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.21, 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 earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 EPS 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 company had revenue of $63.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $63.02 billion. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd will be given a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.52%. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 2nd. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio is 30.36%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction 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 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 at this link. Also, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 41,077 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $38,242,687. This represents a 8.06 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 9,600 shares of company stock worth $9,140,195. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on COST shares. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $1,100.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Monday. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,035.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,024.03.

Costco Wholesale Company 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.