Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC Purchases New Shares in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC bought a new position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 8,263 shares of the retailer's stock, valued at approximately $7,571,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth about $8,430,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 15.0% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,662 shares of the retailer's stock worth $7,020,000 after purchasing an additional 1,001 shares during the period. Dale Q Rice Investment Management Ltd purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $984,000. Stanich Group LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $214,000. Finally, Everence Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 15.4% in the 4th quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. now owns 11,913 shares of the retailer's stock worth $10,916,000 after buying an additional 1,590 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on COST. DA Davidson boosted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Mizuho initiated coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, April 11th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $975.00 price target for the company. Cfra Research raised Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $1,100.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Monday. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $935.00 to $995.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,024.03.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Costco Wholesale stock traded up $11.23 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $1,005.73. The stock had a trading volume of 837,146 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,030,284. Costco Wholesale Co. has a fifty-two week low of $715.32 and a fifty-two week high of $1,078.24. The company has a market cap of $446.22 billion, a PE ratio of 58.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a 50-day moving average of $963.12 and a two-hundred day moving average of $957.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.09 by ($0.07). The business had revenue of $63.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $63.02 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 32.31%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd will be issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.52%. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 2nd. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is presently 30.36%.

Insider Activity

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of the company'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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 43,994 shares in the company, valued at $43,161,193.58. This represents a 8.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 9,600 shares of company stock worth $9,140,195. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

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.