Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Purchased by Silver Oak Securities Incorporated

Silver Oak Securities Incorporated lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 154.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 3,648 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,212 shares during the quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $2,408,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. MGO Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 40.5% during the 4th quarter. MGO Private Wealth LLC now owns 663 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $438,000 after buying an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. Magnus Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Magnus Financial Group LLC now owns 996 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $657,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Convergence Investment Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 32.2% in the 4th quarter. Convergence Investment Partners LLC now owns 1,245 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $822,000 after purchasing an additional 303 shares during the last quarter. Little House Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 44.1% in the 4th quarter. Little House Capital LLC now owns 3,313 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,187,000 after purchasing an additional 1,014 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vance Wealth Inc. increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Vance Wealth Inc. now owns 916 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $605,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of COST stock traded up $7.32 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $729.18. The stock had a trading volume of 1,524,431 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,663,722. Costco Wholesale Co. has a fifty-two week low of $476.75 and a fifty-two week high of $787.08. The firm has a market cap of $323.39 billion, a PE ratio of 47.69, a PEG ratio of 4.86 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.43. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $730.41 and its 200-day simple moving average is $666.77.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.62 by $0.09. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.73% and a return on equity of 28.80%. The firm had revenue of $58.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $59.11 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.30 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors of record on Friday, April 26th will be paid a $1.16 dividend. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 25th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.64%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.35%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on COST. Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $760.00 to $805.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Loop Capital dropped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $830.00 to $820.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $680.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Roth Mkm increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $601.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $694.48.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $7,228,600. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Costco Wholesale news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $723.48, for a total transaction of $1,043,258.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 12,395 shares in the company, valued at $8,967,534.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $722.86, for a total transaction of $567,445.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,228,600. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 3,727 shares of company stock worth $2,682,948 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.