564 Shares in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Acquired by Elite Financial Inc.

Elite Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 564 shares of the retailer's stock, valued at approximately $516,000.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of COST. Investment Management Corp VA ADV purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC grew its stake in 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 buying an additional 25 shares during the period. Collier Financial acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Barrett & Company Inc. raised its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 16 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 4.0%

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock traded up $40.70 during trading on Friday, hitting $1,049.44. The stock had a trading volume of 2,705,433 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,051,599. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The company has a market capitalization of $465.62 billion, a PE ratio of 61.66, 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 stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $981.48 and a 200 day simple moving average of $974.53.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last released 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. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 32.31% and a net margin of 2.93%. The company had revenue of $63.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $62.93 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.78 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 2nd were given a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 2nd. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.50%. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is presently 30.36%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $981.07, for a total value of $3,924,280.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 43,994 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $43,161,193.58. This represents a 8.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $922.56, for a total transaction of $830,304.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,987 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,445,926.72. The trade was a 11.41% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 9,600 shares of company stock worth $9,140,195 over the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on COST. Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Mizuho started coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, April 11th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $975.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $995.00 to $1,042.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,035.32.

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.