SYM FINANCIAL Corp Acquires Shares of 306 Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

SYM FINANCIAL Corp bought a new position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 306 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $202,000.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 61,693.5% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,105,124 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,049,630,000 after purchasing an additional 3,100,099 shares in the last quarter. C WorldWide Group Holding A S purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the third quarter valued at approximately $390,630,000. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth approximately $297,915,000. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 18.3% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,088,673 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,180,016,000 after buying an additional 323,346 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 34.8% during the third quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,161,630 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $656,274,000 after buying an additional 300,000 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $4,785,786.85. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 12,395 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,967,534.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,695 shares in the company, valued at $4,785,786.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 3,727 shares of company stock valued at $2,682,948. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

COST traded up $11.46 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $743.90. The company had a trading volume of 2,323,300 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,605,560. The business has a 50-day moving average of $730.46 and a two-hundred day moving average of $671.71. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1 year low of $476.75 and a 1 year high of $787.08. The company has a market cap of $329.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.65, a P/E/G ratio of 4.88 and a beta of 0.77.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released 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. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.73% and a return on equity of 28.80%. The company had revenue of $58.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $59.11 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.30 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.84 earnings per share 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. 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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 25th. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.62%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 30.35%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Oppenheimer raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $760.00 to $805.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a 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 note on Thursday, April 11th. StockNews.com cut shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $795.00 to $805.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $665.00 to $749.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $694.48.

Costco Wholesale Company 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.