Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Purchased by Rehmann Capital Advisory Group

Rehmann Capital Advisory Group raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 16.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 7,553 shares of the retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 1,061 shares during the quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $6,921,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at about $8,430,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 15.0% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,662 shares of the retailer's stock worth $7,020,000 after acquiring an additional 1,001 shares during the period. Dale Q Rice Investment Management Ltd purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $984,000. Stanich Group LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth $214,000. Finally, Everence Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 15.4% during the fourth quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. now owns 11,913 shares of the retailer's stock worth $10,916,000 after purchasing an additional 1,590 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on COST shares. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target 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. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Mizuho assumed coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, April 11th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $975.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,024.03.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

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

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.09 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $63.72 billion for 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, equities research analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd will be paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 2nd. 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. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.36%.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Gary Millerchip sold 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $940.01, for a total transaction of $1,034,011.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,165 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,495,211.65. This represents a 8.97 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $981.07, for a total transaction of $3,924,280.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 43,994 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $43,161,193.58. This trade represents a 8.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 9,600 shares of company stock valued at $9,140,195. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

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.

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