F&V Capital Management LLC Takes $236,000 Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

F&V Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 250 shares of the retailer's stock, valued at approximately $236,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC raised 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 acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 22.2% during the fourth quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 55 shares of the retailer's stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital A Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth about $58,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,070.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Barclays boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and set a $1,100.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 price target on Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Mizuho began coverage on Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, April 11th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $975.00 price target on the stock. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,035.32.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 6,987 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,445,926.72. The trade was a 11.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 11,000 shares of company stock valued at $10,825,205 over the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of COST stock traded down $12.50 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $990.21. 1,782,964 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,064,562. The firm has a market cap of $439.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.15, a P/E/G ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 1.00. Costco Wholesale Co. has a fifty-two week low of $793.00 and a fifty-two week high of $1,078.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.98. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $998.80 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $980.70.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $63.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $62.93 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 32.31%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.78 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.53%. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 2nd. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio is presently 29.50%.

Costco Wholesale 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.