Blue Sky Capital Consultants Group Inc. Takes Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Blue Sky Capital Consultants Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 6,445 shares of the retailer's stock, valued at approximately $5,905,000. Costco Wholesale makes up 3.5% of Blue Sky Capital Consultants Group Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest holding.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in COST. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 250.0% during the 4th quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 35 shares of the retailer's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Collier Financial acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, March 7th. DA Davidson upped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Cfra Research upgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Mizuho initiated coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, April 11th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $975.00 price objective for the company. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,024.03.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of COST opened at $1,008.50 on Friday. 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 cap of $447.45 billion, a PE ratio of 59.22, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 1.00. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12-month low of $788.20 and a 12-month high of $1,078.24. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $973.21 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $972.06.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 EPS 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%. Analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 issued a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.52%. 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. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.36%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $922.56, for a total value of $830,304.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,987 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,445,926.72. The trade was a 11.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 9,600 shares of company stock valued at $9,140,195 in the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.

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