332 Shares in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Bought by Westend Capital Management LLC

Westend Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 332 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $243,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of COST. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 49.7% in the 3rd quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 2,819 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,593,000 after acquiring an additional 936 shares during the last quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 3.6% during the third quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 989 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $559,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 12.5% in the 3rd quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 7,027 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,970,000 after buying an additional 779 shares in the last quarter. Brasada Capital Management LP increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Brasada Capital Management LP now owns 24,950 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $13,946,000 after acquiring an additional 472 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jacobi Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 3,532 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,996,000 after acquiring an additional 187 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.2 %

NASDAQ COST traded up $1.72 on Monday, hitting $850.03. 544,477 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,972,626. Costco Wholesale Co. has a fifty-two week low of $521.26 and a fifty-two week high of $873.96. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $788.13 and a 200-day moving average price of $732.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The company has a market cap of $376.84 billion, a PE ratio of 52.34, a PEG ratio of 5.70 and a beta of 0.79.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 30th. The retailer reported $3.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.70 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $58.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $58.16 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.02% and a net margin of 2.83%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.43 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors of record on Friday, April 26th were given a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 25th. This is a boost 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 0.55%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is 28.75%.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $7,228,600. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on COST shares. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $680.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $815.00 to $873.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Gordon Haskett cut shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to an “accumulate” rating and set a $775.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $750.00 to $775.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $752.96.

About Costco Wholesale

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.