Welch & Forbes LLC Increases Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Welch & Forbes LLC grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 171,314 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,157 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale comprises approximately 1.7% of Welch & Forbes LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 15th largest holding. Welch & Forbes LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $113,081,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth $228,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 13.3% in the fourth quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP now owns 920 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $607,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the period. Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc. lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc. now owns 2,613 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,725,000 after buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 30.1% in the 4th quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 26,179 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $17,280,000 after buying an additional 6,058 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fielder Capital Group LLC purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at $839,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock traded up $12.55 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $756.45. The company had a trading volume of 1,772,820 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,038,013. The company’s 50-day moving average is $730.69 and its two-hundred day moving average is $674.43. Costco Wholesale Co. has a twelve month low of $476.75 and a twelve month high of $787.08. 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 has a market cap of $335.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.95 and a beta of 0.77.

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, 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 business had revenue of $58.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $59.11 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.30 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate 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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 25th. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.61%. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.35%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

COST has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Loop Capital cut their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $830.00 to $820.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a 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. Roth Mkm boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $601.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note 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 note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $630.00 to $710.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $694.48.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of the 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 approximately $4,785,786.85. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,228,600. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,785,786.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 3,727 shares of company stock worth $2,682,948 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.