Mmbg Investment Advisors CO. Has $3.41 Million Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Mmbg Investment Advisors CO. raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 10.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,724 shares of the retailer's stock after buying an additional 339 shares during the quarter. Mmbg Investment Advisors CO.'s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $3,412,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 250.0% in the 4th quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 35 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Collier Financial purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Barrett & Company Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 59.3% in the 4th quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 43 shares of the retailer's stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 43,994 shares of the company's stock, valued at $43,161,193.58. The trade was a 8.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $922.56, for a total value of $830,304.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,987 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,445,926.72. The trade was a 11.41% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 9,600 shares of company stock worth $9,140,195 over the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,035.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,024.03.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 1.7%

Shares of COST traded down $17.12 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $999.03. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,913,419 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,035,411. The company has a 50 day moving average of $957.50 and a two-hundred day moving average of $965.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The firm has a market cap of $443.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.66, a P/E/G ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 1.00. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1-year low of $771.43 and a 1-year high of $1,078.24.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last released 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). The company had revenue of $63.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $63.02 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 32.31%. As a group, research analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 2nd will be given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.52%. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.