Curat Global LLC Buys New Shares in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Curat Global LLC bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 255 shares of the retailer's stock, valued at approximately $241,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC raised its position in 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 period. Collier Financial purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Barrett & Company Inc. raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 59.3% in the 4th quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 43 shares of the retailer's stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on COST shares. Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $1,100.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Tuesday. Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,070.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,225.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,035.32.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other news, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 41,077 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,242,687. This trade represents a 8.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, 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 transaction of $3,924,280.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 43,994 shares of the company's stock, 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. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 9,600 shares of company stock worth $9,140,195. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

COST stock opened at $1,010.81 on Friday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1 year low of $793.00 and a 1 year high of $1,078.24. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $992.47 and a 200 day moving average of $978.72. The company has a market cap of $448.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 59.35, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.43.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.04. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 32.31%. The company had revenue of $63.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $62.93 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.78 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 2nd were paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.51%. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is 29.50%.

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.

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