Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Purchased by Guardian Capital LP

Guardian Capital LP boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 0.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 53,015 shares of the retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 411 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale makes up 1.8% of Guardian Capital LP's portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Guardian Capital LP's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $48,576,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC increased its stake 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 purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Collier Financial purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Barrett & Company Inc. grew its holdings 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 buying an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 1.3 %

COST opened at $991.70 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $440.00 billion, a PE ratio of 58.23, a P/E/G ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.43. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12-month low of $715.32 and a 12-month high of $1,078.24. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $963.93 and its 200 day moving average price is $957.14.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last posted 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). The firm had revenue of $63.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $63.02 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 32.31% and a net margin of 2.93%. As a group, research 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. Investors of record on Friday, May 2nd will be given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 2nd. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio is currently 30.36%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on COST. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $935.00 to $995.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. DA Davidson upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Cfra Research upgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Mizuho initiated coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, April 11th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $975.00 target price for the company. 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 MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,024.03.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 of the company's stock, valued at $6,445,926.72. This trade represents a 11.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale 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 firm's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 41,077 shares in the company, valued at $38,242,687. The trade was a 8.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 9,600 shares of company stock worth $9,140,195 over the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.

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