Sone Capital Management LLC Takes $1.90 Million Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Sone Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in 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 & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 2,072 shares of the retailer's stock, valued at approximately $1,899,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 250.0% in the 4th quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 35 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Collier Financial acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Barrett & Company Inc. lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 59.3% during the 4th quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 43 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on COST. DA Davidson upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased 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. Mizuho assumed coverage on Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, April 11th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $975.00 price target for the company. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $935.00 to $995.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,024.03.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of the business'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 value of $3,924,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 43,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,161,193.58. The trade was a 8.33% decrease in their position. The sale 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 the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 11,165 shares in the company, 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 ninety days, insiders sold 9,600 shares of company stock valued at $9,140,195. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 1.5%

Costco Wholesale stock opened at $1,025.83 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $455.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 60.24, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 1.00. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $961.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $968.39. 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 Co. has a fifty-two week low of $788.20 and a fifty-two week high of $1,078.24.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.09 by ($0.07). Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 32.31% and a net margin of 2.93%. The firm had revenue of $63.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $63.02 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

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

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