13,714 Shares in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Acquired by Perennial Advisors LLC

Perennial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 13,714 shares of the retailer's stock, valued at approximately $12,566,000. Costco Wholesale comprises 2.7% of Perennial Advisors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 250.0% in the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 35 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. Collier Financial bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Barrett & Company Inc. raised its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 16 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $981.07, for a total transaction of $3,924,280.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 43,994 shares of the company's stock, valued at $43,161,193.58. The trade was a 8.33% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 41,077 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 9,600 shares of company stock worth $9,140,195. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

COST has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Cfra Research upgraded Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. Evercore ISI upped their target price 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. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,024.03.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:COST traded down $0.14 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $1,017.66. 527,425 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,045,020. 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 business's fifty day moving average is $977.74 and its 200-day moving average is $973.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $451.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.76, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 1.00. Costco Wholesale Co. has a one year low of $788.20 and a one year high of $1,078.24.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last posted 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 return on equity of 32.31% and a net margin of 2.93%. The business had revenue of $63.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $63.02 billion. As a group, equities analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.51%. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.36%.

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.