Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Purchased by HWG Holdings LP

HWG Holdings LP increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 5.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,757 shares of the retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 328 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale accounts for about 2.0% of HWG Holdings LP's investment portfolio, 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 quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,201,610 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $38,668,069,000 after acquiring an additional 455,043 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position 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 valued at $8,901,249,000 after acquiring an additional 252,118 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 1.6% in 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 in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $5,182,316,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 12.6% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,257,809 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $4,817,573,000 after acquiring an additional 587,303 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on COST shares. DA Davidson raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,035.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Truist Financial raised their price target 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, Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,024.03.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

COST stock traded down $4.65 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $1,013.14. The company had a trading volume of 1,666,401 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,049,464. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $449.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 59.49, a P/E/G ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 1.00. Costco Wholesale Co. has a one year low of $788.20 and a one year high of $1,078.24. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $977.74 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $973.74.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.09 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $63.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $63.02 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 32.31%. Research analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.51%. 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 (DPR) is 30.36%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 41,077 shares of the company's stock, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $981.07, for a total value of $3,924,280.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 43,994 shares in the company, 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 ninety days, insiders have sold 9,600 shares of company stock valued at $9,140,195. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

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.