Baer Investment Advisory LLC Increases Stock Position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Baer Investment Advisory LLC raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 76.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,421 shares of the retailer's stock after buying an additional 1,050 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale comprises about 4.1% of Baer Investment Advisory LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. Baer Investment Advisory LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $2,290,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Personal CFO Solutions LLC lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 12.4% in the 1st quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 1,519 shares of the retailer's stock worth $1,436,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,739,175 shares of the retailer's stock worth $8,901,249,000 after purchasing an additional 252,118 shares during the period. F&V Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 1st quarter worth about $236,000. Umpqua Bank lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 14.7% in the 4th quarter. Umpqua Bank now owns 4,507 shares of the retailer's stock worth $4,134,000 after purchasing an additional 577 shares during the period. Finally, Curat Global LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 1st quarter worth about $241,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on COST. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Cfra Research raised shares of Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Loop Capital lowered their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,110.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,225.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,060.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,037.48.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Patrick J. Callans sold 3,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 58,543 shares in the company, valued at approximately $58,705,164.11. This trade represents a 4.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 43,994 shares in the company, valued at $43,161,193.58. The trade was a 8.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 9,547 shares of company stock valued at $9,496,950 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock opened at $970.33 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $430.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.03 and a beta of 0.97. The company's 50 day moving average is $1,003.77 and its 200 day moving average is $982.24. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a twelve month low of $793.00 and a twelve month high of $1,078.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.04. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 30.48%. The company had revenue of $63.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $62.93 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.78 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current 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 given a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 2nd. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.54%. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.50%.

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.

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