Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC Takes Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 1,072 shares of the retailer's stock, valued at approximately $982,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 250.0% in 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. Collier Financial acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Barrett & Company Inc. increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 59.3% in the fourth quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 43 shares of the retailer's stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of COST stock traded up $9.29 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $1,017.79. 1,865,159 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,050,996. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $451.58 billion, a PE ratio of 59.76, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 1.00. Costco Wholesale Co. has a twelve month low of $788.20 and a twelve month high of $1,078.24. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $975.30 and its 200-day moving average price is $973.43.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.09 by ($0.07). The business 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, sell-side analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 2nd were issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was 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 dividend yield of 0.51%. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is presently 30.36%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Costco Wholesale news, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was 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 directly owns 41,077 shares of the company's stock, valued at $38,242,687. This represents a 8.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $981.07, for a total value of $3,924,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 43,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,161,193.58. This represents a 8.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 9,600 shares of company stock valued at $9,140,195. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on COST. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,035.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Mizuho began coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, April 11th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $975.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,024.03.

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.