Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Position Boosted by HWG Holdings LP

HWG Holdings LP grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 5.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,757 shares of the retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 328 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale makes up about 2.0% of HWG Holdings LP's holdings, making the stock its 15th largest holding. HWG Holdings LP's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $6,191,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of COST. Investment Management Corp VA ADV purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 250.0% in the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 35 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Collier Financial acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Barrett & Company Inc. grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 59.3% during the 4th quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 43 shares of the retailer's stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 17th. The stock was 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 owns 43,994 shares in the company, valued at $43,161,193.58. The trade was a 8.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $922.56, for a total value of $830,304.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,987 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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 sold a total of 9,600 shares of company stock valued at $9,140,195 over the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on COST shares. Loop Capital set a $1,045.00 price objective on Costco Wholesale and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday. Mizuho assumed coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, April 11th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $975.00 price target for the company. Evercore ISI set a $1,070.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $935.00 to $995.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,028.46.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of COST traded down $2.05 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $1,011.09. The company had a trading volume of 881,685 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,045,241. The stock has a market cap of $448.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.35, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 1.00. The company's 50 day moving average price is $979.82 and its 200 day moving average price is $974.01. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52 week low of $788.20 and a 52 week high of $1,078.24.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.09 by ($0.07). Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 32.31%. The firm had revenue of $63.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $63.02 billion. On average, equities research analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current 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 paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 2nd. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.51%. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.36%.

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.