Unio Capital LLC Has $15.21 Million Stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Unio Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 18.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 16,595 shares of the retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 2,576 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale comprises approximately 5.4% of Unio Capital LLC's holdings, making the stock its 8th largest holding. Unio Capital LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $15,206,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vance Wealth LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Vance Wealth LLC now owns 864 shares of the retailer's stock worth $791,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the period. Voloridge Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at about $78,589,000. Worldly Partners Management LLC grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Worldly Partners Management LLC now owns 91,031 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $83,409,000 after purchasing an additional 615 shares during the last quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 17.9% during the 4th quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC now owns 15,320 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $14,037,000 after buying an additional 2,330 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Whelan Financial grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 26.0% during the fourth quarter. Whelan Financial now owns 946 shares of the retailer's stock worth $867,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Costco Wholesale news, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $931.00, for a total transaction of $3,351,600.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 41,077 shares in the company, valued at $38,242,687. This represents a 8.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 43,994 shares in the company, valued at $43,161,193.58. The trade was a 8.33% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 9,600 shares of company stock worth $9,140,195. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Mizuho assumed coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, April 11th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $975.00 price target on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,035.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Loop Capital dropped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,045.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Cfra Research raised Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. 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 MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,024.03.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of COST traded down $7.17 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $1,018.13. 1,658,711 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,050,796. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $968.97 and a 200-day moving average price of $970.34. The company has a market cap of $451.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.78, a P/E/G ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 1.00. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1-year low of $788.20 and a 1-year high of $1,078.24. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $63.02 billion. Research analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 2nd were paid a $1.30 dividend. 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.51%. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is 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.