Forum Financial Management LP Increases Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Forum Financial Management LP boosted its position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 21.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,916 shares of the retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 871 shares during the quarter. Forum Financial Management LP's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $4,504,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,201,610 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $38,668,069,000 after buying an additional 455,043 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,739,175 shares of the retailer's stock worth $8,901,249,000 after buying an additional 252,118 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,457,824 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $8,665,921,000 after acquiring an additional 149,209 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth approximately $5,182,316,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 12.6% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,257,809 shares of the retailer's stock worth $4,817,573,000 after acquiring an additional 587,303 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 0.9%

NASDAQ:COST opened at $1,008.50 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.43. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $973.21 and its 200-day moving average price is $972.06. The company has a market capitalization of $447.45 billion, a PE ratio of 59.22, 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.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.09 by ($0.07). The business had revenue of $63.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $63.02 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 32.31% and a net margin of 2.93%. On average, equities analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were given a $1.30 dividend. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 2nd. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is currently 30.36%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $922.56, for a total transaction of $830,304.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,987 shares in the company, valued at $6,445,926.72. This represents a 11.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the firm's 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 41,077 shares of the company's stock, valued at $38,242,687. This trade represents a 8.06% 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 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $935.00 to $995.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. DA Davidson increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Loop Capital decreased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,045.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,024.03.

About Costco Wholesale

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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