Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN Buys 19 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 3.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 604 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 19 shares during the quarter. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $443,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of COST. Richelieu Gestion SA acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 1st quarter valued at $32,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC increased its stake 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 during the period. Finally, Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $7,228,600. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on COST shares. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $875.00 target price (up from $800.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $676.00 price objective (up from $650.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Argus lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $805.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 28th. Tigress Financial lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $870.00 to $975.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, June 2nd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $758.70.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

NASDAQ COST traded up $6.42 on Friday, hitting $869.08. 131,314 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,944,107. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $812.88 and a 200-day moving average of $745.22. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52 week low of $524.63 and a 52 week high of $873.96. The stock has a market cap of $385.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.45, a P/E/G ratio of 5.70 and a beta of 0.78.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released 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. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.02% and a net margin of 2.83%. The firm had revenue of $58.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $58.16 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.43 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 26th were paid a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.53%. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 25th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.75%.

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.