Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd Acquires 416 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 5.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,780 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 416 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale accounts for about 0.8% of Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $5,129,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Howard Financial Services LTD. boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. now owns 870 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $574,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. First National Corp MA ADV raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. First National Corp MA ADV now owns 3,098 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,045,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the period. Morton Capital Management LLC CA raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Morton Capital Management LLC CA now owns 1,564 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,032,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the period. Insight Advisors LLC PA raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Insight Advisors LLC PA now owns 2,736 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,807,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the period. Finally, Optas LLC raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Optas LLC now owns 2,383 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,573,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ COST traded up $7.22 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $722.68. 1,174,884 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,079,065. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12-month low of $476.75 and a 12-month high of $787.08. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The company has a market cap of $320.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.26, a PEG ratio of 4.73 and a beta of 0.77. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $730.32 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $664.04.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.62 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $58.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $59.11 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 28.80% and a net margin of 2.73%. Costco Wholesale’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.30 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 26th will be paid a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 25th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.64%. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.35%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Costco Wholesale news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $723.48, for a total value of $1,043,258.16. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 12,395 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,967,534.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $714.83, for a total value of $1,072,245.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,695 shares in the company, valued at $4,785,786.85. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $723.48, for a total value of $1,043,258.16. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 12,395 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,967,534.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 3,727 shares of company stock valued at $2,682,948 over the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

COST has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $610.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Gordon Haskett cut Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to an “accumulate” rating and set a $775.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Tigress Financial boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $745.00 to $870.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $760.00 to $805.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $800.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $694.48.

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.