Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Boosts Stock Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 0.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 118,559 shares of the retailer's stock after buying an additional 262 shares during the quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $112,131,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in COST. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 106,402.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,160,190 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $7,717,744,000 after buying an additional 8,152,528 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $5,182,316,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 74,796.3% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,521,893 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,394,465,000 after buying an additional 1,519,861 shares in the last quarter. Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $95,452,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 587,303 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $922.56, for a total transaction 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. This represents a 11.41% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Gary Millerchip sold 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $940.01, for a total value of $1,034,011.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,165 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,495,211.65. The trade was a 8.97% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 11,000 shares of company stock valued at $10,825,205 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock opened at $990.21 on Monday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52 week low of $793.00 and a 52 week high of $1,078.24. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $1,000.43 and its 200-day simple moving average is $981.10. The firm has a market cap of $439.14 billion, a PE ratio of 58.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 1.00. 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 (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $63.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $62.93 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.78 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share 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 paid a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 2nd. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio is 29.50%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on COST. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $1,100.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 price target on Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,035.32.

Costco Wholesale Company 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.

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