Lakeshore Capital Group Inc. Takes Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Lakeshore Capital Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 3,025 shares of the retailer's stock, valued at approximately $2,772,000. Costco Wholesale accounts for approximately 4.2% of Lakeshore Capital Group Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest holding.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of COST. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 455,043 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 2.7% during 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 buying an additional 252,118 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,457,824 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $8,665,921,000 after buying an additional 149,209 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth about $5,182,316,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 12.6% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,257,809 shares of the retailer's stock worth $4,817,573,000 after acquiring an additional 587,303 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on COST shares. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Cfra Research raised Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Loop Capital reduced their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,045.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,035.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,024.03.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ COST traded down $4.65 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $1,013.14. 1,665,836 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,049,464. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52-week low of $788.20 and a 52-week high of $1,078.24. The company has a 50-day moving average of $977.74 and a 200-day moving average of $973.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $449.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 59.49, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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 return on equity of 32.31% and a net margin of 2.93%. The business had revenue of $63.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $63.02 billion. Analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were paid a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.51%. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.36%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 43,994 shares of the company's stock, valued at $43,161,193.58. The trade was a 8.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $922.56, for a total transaction of $830,304.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,987 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,445,926.72. This represents a 11.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 9,600 shares of company stock valued at $9,140,195 in the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.