Moore Capital Management LP Invests $1.18 Million in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Moore Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 1,289 shares of the retailer's stock, valued at approximately $1,181,000.

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

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:COST traded up $18.93 during trading on Thursday, reaching $1,010.47. The company had a trading volume of 2,462,281 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,040,679. The firm has a market capitalization of $448.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.43. Costco Wholesale Co. has a fifty-two week low of $778.52 and a fifty-two week high of $1,078.24. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $958.04 and its 200 day moving average price is $965.34.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.09 by ($0.07). Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 32.31% and a net margin of 2.93%. The business had revenue of $63.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $63.02 billion. As a group, equities research analysts predict 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. Investors of record on Friday, May 2nd will be issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.51%. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is currently 30.36%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of the company'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 sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $931.00, for a total value of $3,351,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 41,077 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $38,242,687. This represents a 8.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 9,600 shares of company stock worth $9,140,195. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

COST has been the subject of several analyst reports. Loop Capital decreased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,045.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Cfra Research upgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. DA Davidson raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Mizuho started coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, April 11th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $975.00 price target on the stock. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target 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.