Orser Capital Management LLC Purchases Shares of 1,504 Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Orser Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 1,504 shares of the retailer's stock, valued at approximately $1,422,000. Costco Wholesale accounts for 1.1% of Orser Capital Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 28th biggest position.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. CGN Advisors LLC bought a new position in Costco Wholesale during the first quarter valued at $2,132,000. Unigestion Holding SA raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1,689.7% in the 1st quarter. Unigestion Holding SA now owns 13,315 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $12,590,000 after acquiring an additional 12,571 shares during the period. Kure Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the first quarter worth $362,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 47.1% during the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 359 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $340,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the period. Finally, Smith Anglin Financial LLC lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 7.2% during the 1st quarter. Smith Anglin Financial LLC now owns 1,399 shares of the retailer's stock worth $1,323,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on COST. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,225.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Mizuho began coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, April 11th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $975.00 price target for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,035.32.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 41,077 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $38,242,687. This represents a 8.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of the firm'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. This represents a 8.33% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 9,600 shares of company stock valued at $9,140,195. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of COST stock traded down $3.90 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $1,051.69. 1,420,603 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,049,749. The company has a market capitalization of $466.62 billion, a PE ratio of 61.76, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12-month low of $793.00 and a 12-month high of $1,078.24. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $988.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $977.58.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $63.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $62.93 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 32.31%. The firm's revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.78 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were issued a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.49%. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is currently 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.