Elite Financial Inc. Invests $516,000 in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

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

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cromwell Holdings LLC lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 1,144 shares of the retailer's stock worth $1,048,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. 44 Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. 44 Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,488 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $3,196,000 after buying an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. SRN Advisors LLC raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. SRN Advisors LLC now owns 3,081 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $2,823,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Miramar Capital LLC raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Miramar Capital LLC now owns 525 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $481,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clear Investment Research LLC raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 22.2% during the fourth quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 55 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on COST shares. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Loop Capital lowered their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,045.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,024.03.

Insider Activity

In other 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 transaction of $3,924,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 43,994 shares of the company's stock, valued at $43,161,193.58. This represents a 8.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 of the company's stock, valued at $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 valued at $9,140,195 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ COST opened at $1,008.50 on Tuesday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1-year low of $788.20 and a 1-year high of $1,078.24. 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 firm's 50-day moving average price is $975.30 and its 200-day moving average price is $973.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $447.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 59.22, a P/E/G ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 1.00.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.09 by ($0.07). Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 32.31% and a net margin of 2.93%. The firm had revenue of $63.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $63.02 billion. Equities research analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were given a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.52%. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 2nd. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio is presently 30.36%.

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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