Western Financial Corp CA Has $2.91 Million Holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Western Financial Corp CA grew its position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 20.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,072 shares of the retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 529 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale makes up approximately 1.7% of Western Financial Corp CA's holdings, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Western Financial Corp CA's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $2,905,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of COST. SRN Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. SRN Advisors LLC now owns 3,081 shares of the retailer's stock worth $2,823,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the period. Miramar Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Miramar Capital LLC now owns 525 shares of the retailer's stock worth $481,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the period. Clear Investment Research LLC grew 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 worth $51,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the period. Peninsula Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Peninsula Wealth LLC now owns 818 shares of the retailer's stock worth $749,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the period. Finally, Bosun Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Bosun Asset Management LLC now owns 636 shares of the retailer's stock worth $583,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on COST. Cfra Research upgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, March 7th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and set a $1,100.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,034.79.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,014.15, for a total transaction of $2,028,300.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,210 shares in the company, valued at $8,326,171.50. The trade was a 19.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $981.07, for a total transaction of $3,924,280.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 43,994 shares in the company, valued at $43,161,193.58. This represents a 8.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 9,547 shares of company stock worth $9,496,950. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of COST stock opened at $982.91 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 1 year low of $793.00 and a 1 year high of $1,078.24. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $1,004.08 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $981.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $435.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.75, a PEG ratio of 5.83 and a beta of 1.00.

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 the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.04. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.92% and a return on equity of 30.48%. The firm had revenue of $63.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $62.93 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.78 EPS. The company's revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were paid a $1.30 dividend. 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 0.53%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 2nd. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is presently 29.50%.

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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