Enclave Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 37.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,582 shares of the retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 430 shares during the period. Enclave Advisors LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,496,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position 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 valued at $7,717,744,000 after acquiring an additional 8,152,528 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $5,182,316,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 74,796.3% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,521,893 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,394,465,000 after purchasing an additional 1,519,861 shares during the last quarter. Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at $95,452,000. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 100,422.3% in the 4th quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 796,137 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $729,476,000 after purchasing an additional 795,345 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.4%
Shares of Costco Wholesale stock traded up $4.13 during trading on Friday, hitting $1,014.94. 1,852,907 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,056,283. The firm has a market cap of $450.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 59.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52-week low of $793.00 and a 52-week high of $1,078.24. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $993.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $979.31.
Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 earnings per share 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $62.93 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.78 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were issued a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 2nd. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.50%.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
A number of research analysts have weighed in on COST shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday. Mizuho initiated coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, April 11th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $975.00 target price for the company. Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Cfra Research upgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Loop Capital dropped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,110.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,035.32.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on COST
Insiders Place Their Bets
In related news, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $931.00, for a total transaction of $3,351,600.00. Following the completion of 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 sale 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 business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $922.56, for a total value 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 $6,445,926.72. This trade represents a 11.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 9,600 shares of company stock valued at $9,140,195. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.
Costco Wholesale Company Profile
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Free Report)
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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