Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Purchased by Donaldson Capital Management LLC

Donaldson Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 0.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 87,990 shares of the retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 800 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale accounts for about 3.1% of Donaldson Capital Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest position. Donaldson Capital Management LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $83,219,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 106,402.1% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,160,190 shares of the retailer's stock worth $7,717,744,000 after purchasing an additional 8,152,528 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $5,182,316,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 74,796.3% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,521,893 shares of the retailer's stock worth $1,394,465,000 after buying an additional 1,519,861 shares in the last quarter. Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth $95,452,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 12.6% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,257,809 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $4,817,573,000 after acquiring an additional 587,303 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Loop Capital reduced their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,110.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,070.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,035.32.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In related news, 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 value of $3,924,280.00. Following 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of the firm'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 transaction of $830,304.00. Following 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 11,000 shares of company stock worth $10,825,205. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock traded down $12.50 during trading on Friday, reaching $990.21. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,782,964 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,061,596. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $998.80 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $980.70. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1-year low of $793.00 and a 1-year high of $1,078.24. The company has a market cap of $439.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.15, a P/E/G ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $63.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $62.93 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 32.31% and a net margin of 2.93%. The company's revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.78 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.53%. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio is presently 29.50%.

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.