Lord Abbett & CO. LLC Raises Stock Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Lord Abbett & CO. LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 0.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 214,304 shares of the retailer's stock after buying an additional 332 shares during the quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $196,360,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Rothschild Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $504,000. Topsail Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $250,000. Empire Financial Management Company LLC lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 46.3% during the 4th quarter. Empire Financial Management Company LLC now owns 790 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $724,000 after buying an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 8.1% during the 4th quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 20,520 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $18,801,000 after buying an additional 1,543 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Burling Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $3,937,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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. 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 9,600 shares of company stock valued at $9,140,195. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ COST traded up $4.93 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $983.47. 770,962 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,027,987. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $964.78 and a two-hundred day moving average of $956.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $436.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.87, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.95. 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 one year low of $715.32 and a one year high of $1,078.24.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 32.31%. The firm had revenue of $63.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $63.02 billion. On average, equities analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 2nd will be issued a $1.30 dividend. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 2nd. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.36%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on COST shares. Mizuho assumed coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, April 11th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $975.00 price target on the stock. Cfra Research raised shares of Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, March 7th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped 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. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price 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.