Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Purchases 2,068 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 35.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,871 shares of the retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 2,068 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $7,212,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,822 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,670,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the period. RMR Wealth Builders grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. RMR Wealth Builders now owns 4,786 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $4,386,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the period. Czech National Bank increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 6.4% during the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 96,068 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $88,024,000 after acquiring an additional 5,756 shares in the last quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,593 shares of the retailer's stock worth $1,459,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Matrix Trust Co grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Matrix Trust Co now owns 2,491 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $2,282,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

COST has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $1,100.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Monday, May 5th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price 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. Barclays increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,024.03.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

NASDAQ COST traded down $17.12 on Tuesday, hitting $999.03. The stock had a trading volume of 2,913,419 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,035,411. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.98. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52-week low of $771.43 and a 52-week high of $1,078.24. The company has a market capitalization of $443.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 1.00. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $958.05 and a 200-day moving average of $964.92.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.09 by ($0.07). Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 32.31% and a net margin of 2.93%. The company had revenue of $63.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $63.02 billion. Equities analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.52%. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.36%.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, 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 transaction of $3,924,280.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 43,994 shares in the company, valued at $43,161,193.58. This trade represents a 8.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $931.00, for a total transaction of $3,351,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 41,077 shares in the company, valued at $38,242,687. This trade represents a 8.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 9,600 shares of company stock valued at $9,140,195. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

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.