Roffman Miller Associates Inc. PA Has $18.26 Million Stock Holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Roffman Miller Associates Inc. PA lifted its position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 8.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,309 shares of the retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 1,498 shares during the quarter. Roffman Miller Associates Inc. PA's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $18,262,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in COST. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,739,175 shares of the retailer's stock worth $8,901,249,000 after buying an additional 252,118 shares in the last quarter. F&V Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 1st quarter worth $236,000. Umpqua Bank raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 14.7% in the 4th quarter. Umpqua Bank now owns 4,507 shares of the retailer's stock worth $4,134,000 after buying an additional 577 shares in the last quarter. Curat Global LLC bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 1st quarter worth $241,000. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 32.6% in the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 68,976 shares of the retailer's stock worth $63,200,000 after buying an additional 16,967 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $981.07, for a total value of $3,924,280.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 43,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,161,193.58. This represents a 8.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,014.15, for a total value of $2,028,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 8,210 shares in the company, valued at $8,326,171.50. This represents a 19.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 9,547 shares of company stock worth $9,496,950. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on COST shares. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $1,100.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. Mizuho started coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, April 11th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $975.00 price objective on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 target price on Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,225.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,034.79.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of COST traded down $3.75 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $982.09. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,911,606 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,079,819. The firm has a market cap of $435.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.71, a P/E/G ratio of 6.13 and a beta of 0.97. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 1-year low of $793.00 and a 1-year high of $1,078.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The company has a 50 day moving average of $1,005.11 and a two-hundred day moving average of $981.68.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $63.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $62.93 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.48% and a net margin of 2.92%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.78 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 2nd were issued a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.53%. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio is currently 29.50%.

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.