Adams Diversified Equity Fund Inc. Grows Holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Adams Diversified Equity Fund Inc. lifted its position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 39.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,700 shares of the retailer's stock after buying an additional 3,900 shares during the quarter. Adams Diversified Equity Fund Inc.'s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $12,957,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 250.0% during the 4th 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 last quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 22.2% during the fourth quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 55 shares of the retailer's stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital A Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth approximately $58,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on COST. Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Loop Capital dropped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,110.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 price target on Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, March 7th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,034.79.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company's stock, valued at $43,161,193.58. This represents a 8.33% 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, EVP Patrick J. Callans sold 3,000 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,002.77, for a total value of $3,008,310.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 58,543 shares in the company, valued at approximately $58,705,164.11. The trade was a 4.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 9,547 shares of company stock valued at $9,496,950. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.2%

NASDAQ:COST traded up $2.23 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $985.14. 2,128,085 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,073,406. The firm has a market capitalization of $436.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.88, a PEG ratio of 5.81 and a beta of 1.00. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 12-month low of $793.00 and a 12-month high of $1,078.24. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $1,004.08 and a 200-day moving average price of $981.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 0.52.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $63.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $62.93 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.48% and a net margin of 2.92%. The firm's revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.78 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were given a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.53%. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 2nd. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.50%.

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.