Ieq Capital LLC Buys 1,756 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Ieq Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 3.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 58,099 shares of the retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 1,756 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale makes up approximately 0.6% of Ieq Capital LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest holding. Ieq Capital LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $38,349,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,134,947 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $2,901,040,000 after purchasing an additional 210,586 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 61,693.5% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,105,124 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $2,049,630,000 after acquiring an additional 3,100,099 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 2,794,480 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,844,581,000 after acquiring an additional 85,398 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 0.9% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,689,514 shares of the retailer's stock worth $1,519,468,000 after acquiring an additional 24,274 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,657,994 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,754,489,000 after purchasing an additional 77,345 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of COST traded down $12.04 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $775.15. The stock had a trading volume of 1,595,850 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,017,676. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52 week low of $476.75 and a 52 week high of $789.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.43. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $732.99 and a 200-day moving average price of $680.72. The firm has a market cap of $343.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.78, a PEG ratio of 5.24 and a beta of 0.77.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.62 by $0.09. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.73% and a return on equity of 28.80%. The business had revenue of $58.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $59.11 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.30 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.85 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 26th were issued a dividend of $1.16 per share. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 25th. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.60%. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is presently 30.35%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on COST shares. Evercore ISI increased their price objective 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. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $665.00 to $749.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Roth Mkm increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $601.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. DA Davidson reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $680.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Tigress Financial upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $745.00 to $870.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $694.48.

Costco Wholesale Company 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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