Putney Financial Group LLC Buys Shares of 3,483 Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Putney Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 3,483 shares of the retailer's stock, valued at approximately $3,191,000. Costco Wholesale comprises about 2.2% of Putney Financial Group LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest holding.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of the firm's 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,987 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,445,926.72. This trade represents a 11.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing 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 owns 43,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 9,600 shares of company stock valued at $9,140,195. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

COST has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Cfra Research raised shares of Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, March 7th. DA Davidson increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Mizuho started coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, April 11th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $975.00 price objective for the company. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,024.03.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

COST stock traded up $9.29 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $1,017.79. 1,865,159 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,050,996. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.43. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $975.30 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $973.43. Costco Wholesale Co. has a one year low of $788.20 and a one year high of $1,078.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $451.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 1.00.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last announced 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 business 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%. Equities research analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 2nd. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. Costco Wholesale's dividend 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.