PFG Investments LLC Has $11.24 Million Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

PFG Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 99.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,342 shares of the retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 7,659 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale makes up approximately 0.7% of PFG Investments LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest holding. PFG Investments LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $11,240,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Enterprise Financial Services Corp increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Enterprise Financial Services Corp now owns 892 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $589,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Hoxton Planning & Management LLC increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.9% during the first quarter. Hoxton Planning & Management LLC now owns 1,535 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,125,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.3% during the first quarter. Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. now owns 4,472 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $3,276,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. now owns 870 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $574,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First National Corp MA ADV increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. First National Corp MA ADV now owns 3,098 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $2,045,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on COST. Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $760.00 to $805.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $610.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $630.00 to $710.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Loop Capital cut their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $830.00 to $820.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $795.00 to $805.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned 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 $694.48.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $722.86, for a total value of $567,445.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,228,600. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $714.83, for a total transaction of $1,072,245.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,695 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,785,786.85. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $722.86, for a total transaction of $567,445.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $7,228,600. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 3,727 shares of company stock worth $2,682,948 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

COST stock traded up $7.32 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $729.18. The company had a trading volume of 1,524,431 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,663,722. The company has a market capitalization of $323.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.69, a P/E/G ratio of 4.81 and a beta of 0.77. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12-month low of $476.75 and a 12-month high of $787.08. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $730.41 and a 200 day moving average price of $666.77.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.62 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $58.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $59.11 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.73% and a return on equity of 28.80%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.30 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 26th will be issued a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 25th. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.64%. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is 30.35%.

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.

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