Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. Purchases 976 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 19.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,046 shares of the retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 976 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $5,718,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Stanich Group LLC purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth approximately $214,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,739,175 shares of the retailer's stock worth $8,901,249,000 after acquiring an additional 252,118 shares during the last quarter. Brentview Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth $4,522,000. Flavin Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth $1,494,000. Finally, RW Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 21.3% in the fourth quarter. RW Investment Management LLC now owns 5,624 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $5,153,000 after acquiring an additional 989 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 3.9%

Costco Wholesale stock traded down $40.88 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $1,010.81. The stock had a trading volume of 3,286,207 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,055,886. The company has a market capitalization of $448.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.35, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.43. Costco Wholesale Co. has a one year low of $793.00 and a one year high of $1,078.24. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $991.17 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $978.09.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 analysts' expectations of $62.93 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.78 earnings per share. Costco Wholesale's revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 2nd were issued a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.51%. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is presently 30.36%.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Gary Millerchip sold 1,100 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $940.01, for a total transaction of $1,034,011.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 11,165 shares in the company, valued at $10,495,211.65. This trade represents a 8.97% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of the company's 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 owns 43,994 shares of the company's stock, valued at $43,161,193.58. This trade represents a 8.33% 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 worth $9,140,195. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on COST shares. Loop Capital cut their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,110.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Robert W. Baird upped 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 note on Friday, March 7th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,070.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,225.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,035.32.

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.