Stonebrook Private Inc. Makes New Investment in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Stonebrook Private Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 1,107 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $731,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in COST. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 28,855 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $16,302,000 after purchasing an additional 273 shares during the period. Keating Investment Counselors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 43.0% in the 3rd quarter. Keating Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 2,643 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,493,000 after purchasing an additional 795 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 28.9% in the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 272,288 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $179,822,000 after buying an additional 61,122 shares during the last quarter. Rice Partnership LLC grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 21.0% in the 3rd quarter. Rice Partnership LLC now owns 11,741 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $6,633,000 after buying an additional 2,038 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rappaport Reiches Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 23.5% in the 4th quarter. Rappaport Reiches Capital Management LLC now owns 814 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $538,000 after buying an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $714.83, for a total transaction of $1,072,245.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,695 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,785,786.85. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $714.83, for a total value of $1,072,245.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,695 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,785,786.85. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $722.86, for a total transaction of $567,445.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $7,228,600. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 3,727 shares of company stock worth $2,682,948. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

COST traded up $7.32 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $729.18. The company had a trading volume of 1,524,431 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,663,722. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.93. The stock has a market cap 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 12-month low of $476.75 and a 12-month high of $787.08. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $730.41 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $666.77.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $58.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $59.11 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.73% and a return on equity of 28.80%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.30 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors of record on Friday, April 26th will be paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. 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%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 25th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.35%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

COST has been the topic of a number of research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $665.00 to $749.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $630.00 to $710.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Loop Capital lowered their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $830.00 to $820.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $680.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Tigress Financial lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $745.00 to $870.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.