Goelzer Investment Management Inc. Buys 429 Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Goelzer Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 4.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 10,106 shares of the retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 429 shares during the quarter. Goelzer Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $9,558,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 250.0% during the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 35 shares of the retailer's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 22.2% during the fourth quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 55 shares of the retailer's stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aspect Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 24.4% during the first quarter. Aspect Partners LLC now owns 56 shares of the retailer's stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.4%

NASDAQ:COST traded up $3.91 on Friday, reaching $986.27. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,101,351 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,074,110. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 1-year low of $793.00 and a 1-year high of $1,078.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 1.02. The firm has a market cap of $437.39 billion, a PE ratio of 55.94, a PEG ratio of 6.14 and a beta of 0.97. The business's 50-day moving average price is $1,005.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $981.20.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $63.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $62.93 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.48% and a net margin of 2.92%. The company's revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.78 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share 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 given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 2nd. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio is currently 29.50%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on COST. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,060.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Wall Street Zen raised Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Finally, Mizuho assumed coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, April 11th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $975.00 price objective for the company. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,034.79.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,014.15, for a total transaction of $2,028,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 8,210 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,326,171.50. This represents a 19.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Patrick J. Callans sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,002.77, for a total value of $3,008,310.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 58,543 shares of the company's stock, valued at $58,705,164.11. This represents a 4.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 9,547 shares of company stock valued at $9,496,950 over the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.