Ritholtz Wealth Management Acquires 428 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Ritholtz Wealth Management lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 2.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 20,222 shares of the retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 428 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale comprises about 0.6% of Ritholtz Wealth Management's holdings, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Ritholtz Wealth Management's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $19,125,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Cromwell Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 1,144 shares of the retailer's stock worth $1,048,000 after buying an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. 44 Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. 44 Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,488 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $3,196,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. SRN Advisors LLC grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. SRN Advisors LLC now owns 3,081 shares of the retailer's stock worth $2,823,000 after buying an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Miramar Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Miramar Capital LLC now owns 525 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $481,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clear Investment Research LLC boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 22.2% during the 4th quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 55 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during 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 equities research analysts recently weighed in on COST shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Loop Capital reduced their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,110.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Barclays lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 target price on Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $1,100.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,035.32.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ COST traded up $2.82 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $993.03. 531,486 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,061,264. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.98. The company has a market cap of $440.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.30, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 1.00. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $1,000.43 and a 200-day moving average price of $981.10. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52 week low of $793.00 and a 52 week high of $1,078.24.

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

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Investors 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 dividend yield of 0.52%. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio is presently 29.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Patrick J. Callans sold 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,002.77, for a total transaction of $3,008,310.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 58,543 shares in the company, valued at approximately $58,705,164.11. This trade represents a 4.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Gary Millerchip sold 1,100 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $940.01, for a total transaction of $1,034,011.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,165 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,495,211.65. This trade represents a 8.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 11,000 shares of company stock worth $10,825,205. 0.18% of the stock is owned by 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.