Annex Advisory Services LLC Increases Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Annex Advisory Services LLC increased its position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 8.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 32,471 shares of the retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 2,410 shares during the period. Annex Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $30,711,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 250.0% in the 4th quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 35 shares of the retailer's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Collier Financial bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Barrett & Company Inc. grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 59.3% during the 4th quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 43 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

COST has been the topic of several analyst reports. Loop Capital dropped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,110.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Cfra Research raised Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Mizuho started coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, April 11th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $975.00 price target for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 price objective on Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,035.32.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of COST traded up $4.13 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $1,014.94. 1,852,907 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,056,283. The company has a market cap of $450.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 59.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The company's 50-day moving average price is $993.68 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $979.31. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52-week low of $793.00 and a 52-week high of $1,078.24.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.04. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 32.31% and a net margin of 2.93%. The business had revenue of $63.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $62.93 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.78 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate 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 issued a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 2nd. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.51%. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is currently 29.50%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 43,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,161,193.58. This represents a 8.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $931.00, for a total transaction of $3,351,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 41,077 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,242,687. This represents a 8.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 9,600 shares of company stock worth $9,140,195 in the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company 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.