Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Purchased by Transcend Capital Advisors LLC

Transcend Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 8.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,545 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 265 shares during the period. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $2,340,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Richelieu Gestion SA purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 200.0% during the fourth quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 45 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Steph & Co. boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 42.3% during the third quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 74 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth approximately $49,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Gordon Haskett downgraded Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to an “accumulate” rating and set a $775.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $795.00 to $805.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Loop Capital decreased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $830.00 to $820.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. StockNews.com downgraded Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Roth Mkm raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $601.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $694.48.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of Costco Wholesale 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 sale, 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 available at this link. In related news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,695 shares in the company, valued at $4,785,786.85. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,228,600. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 3,727 shares of company stock valued at $2,682,948. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 1.0 %

COST stock traded up $7.32 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $729.18. 1,524,431 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,663,722. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $730.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $666.77. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $323.39 billion, a PE ratio of 47.69, a P/E/G ratio of 4.86 and a beta of 0.77. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1-year low of $476.75 and a 1-year high of $787.08.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.62 by $0.09. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 28.80% and a net margin of 2.73%. The business had revenue of $58.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $59.11 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.30 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 26th will be paid a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is 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 0.64%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is presently 30.35%.

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.