Westwood Holdings Group Inc. Grows Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Westwood Holdings Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 17.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,008 shares of the retailer's stock after buying an additional 1,898 shares during the quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc.'s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $11,919,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Cromwell Holdings LLC raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 1,144 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,048,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. 44 Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. 44 Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,488 shares of the retailer's stock worth $3,196,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. SRN Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. SRN Advisors LLC now owns 3,081 shares of the retailer's stock worth $2,823,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the period. Miramar Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Miramar Capital LLC now owns 525 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $481,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the period. Finally, Clear Investment Research LLC grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 22.2% during the fourth quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 55 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,987 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,445,926.72. This represents a 11.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of the firm's 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 43,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,161,193.58. The trade was a 8.33% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 9,600 shares of company stock worth $9,140,195. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of NASDAQ COST traded down $7.17 during trading on Thursday, reaching $1,018.13. The stock had a trading volume of 1,658,711 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,047,377. The business's 50-day moving average price is $968.97 and its 200-day moving average price is $970.34. Costco Wholesale Co. has a fifty-two week low of $788.20 and a fifty-two week high of $1,078.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.98. The company has a market cap of $451.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 59.78, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 1.00.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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. On average, equities research analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 0.51%. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 2nd. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.36%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on COST shares. Cfra Research raised Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. Loop Capital decreased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,045.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Wednesday. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Cowen reiterated a "buy" 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,024.03.

Costco Wholesale Company 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.