Waverly Advisors LLC Buys 2,330 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Waverly Advisors LLC raised its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 17.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,320 shares of the retailer's stock after buying an additional 2,330 shares during the period. Waverly Advisors LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $14,037,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,201,610 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $38,668,069,000 after buying an additional 455,043 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position 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 valued at $8,901,249,000 after buying an additional 252,118 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,457,824 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $8,665,921,000 after buying an additional 149,209 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at about $5,182,316,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 12.6% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,257,809 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $4,817,573,000 after purchasing an additional 587,303 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of COST opened at $1,034.34 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The company has a market capitalization of $458.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 60.74, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 1.00. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $963.62 and a 200 day moving average of $969.49. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12 month low of $788.20 and a 12 month high of $1,078.24.

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

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Investors 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 dividend yield of 0.50%. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 2nd. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.36%.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,987 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,445,926.72. This trade represents a 11.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 43,994 shares of the company's stock, valued at $43,161,193.58. The trade was a 8.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 9,600 shares of company stock valued at $9,140,195. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on COST. Mizuho began coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, April 11th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $975.00 target price on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, March 7th. DA Davidson upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Loop Capital cut their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,045.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on 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. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,024.03.

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.

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