Headland Capital LLC Invests $8.24 Million in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Headland Capital LLC purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 8,995 shares of the retailer's stock, valued at approximately $8,242,000. Costco Wholesale comprises approximately 2.8% of Headland Capital LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,201,610 shares of the retailer's stock worth $38,668,069,000 after buying an additional 455,043 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased 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 acquiring an additional 252,118 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,457,824 shares of the retailer's stock worth $8,665,921,000 after acquiring an additional 149,209 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at about $5,182,316,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 12.6% in the fourth 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 during the period. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on COST shares. DA Davidson lifted their target price 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. Cfra Research upgraded Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,035.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Mizuho started 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. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,024.03.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Gary Millerchip sold 1,100 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $940.01, for a total value of $1,034,011.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,165 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,495,211.65. This represents a 8.97 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $922.56, for a total value of $830,304.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,987 shares in the company, valued at $6,445,926.72. This represents a 11.41 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 9,600 shares of company stock worth $9,140,195. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of COST stock traded up $9.26 on Friday, reaching $1,008.30. 1,547,172 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,034,516. Costco Wholesale Co. has a twelve month low of $733.35 and a twelve month high of $1,078.24. 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 $447.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.21, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.95. The business's 50 day moving average price is $961.44 and its 200 day moving average price is $958.94.

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

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd will be given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 2nd. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is currently 30.36%.

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.