Diversified Trust Co Has $4.80 Million Stock Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Diversified Trust Co grew its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,547 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the quarter. Diversified Trust Co’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $4,797,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Richelieu Gestion SA acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 200.0% in the 4th quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 45 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Vima LLC bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,228,600. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

NASDAQ COST opened at $845.67 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $801.95 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $740.64. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12-month low of $524.63 and a 12-month high of $873.96. The company has a market capitalization of $374.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.40, a P/E/G ratio of 5.63 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 30th. The retailer reported $3.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.70 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $58.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $58.16 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.02% and a net margin of 2.83%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.43 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 26th were given a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 25th. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.55%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is presently 28.75%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

COST has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $710.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $815.00 to $873.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Argus increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $805.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 28th. Barclays boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $700.00 to $765.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. Finally, Loop Capital lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $890.00 to $940.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 14th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $756.85.

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.