Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Stock Holdings Raised by Randolph Co Inc

Randolph Co Inc grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 54,585 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 23 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale accounts for 4.8% of Randolph Co Inc’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Randolph Co Inc’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $36,030,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in COST. Howard Financial Services LTD. raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. now owns 870 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $574,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. First National Corp MA ADV raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. First National Corp MA ADV now owns 3,098 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,045,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Morton Capital Management LLC CA raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Morton Capital Management LLC CA now owns 1,564 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,032,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Insight Advisors LLC PA raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Insight Advisors LLC PA now owns 2,736 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,807,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Optas LLC raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Optas LLC now owns 2,383 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,573,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ COST traded up $3.35 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $721.94. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 893,117 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,120,961. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $729.13 and a two-hundred day moving average of $653.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $320.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.09, a P/E/G ratio of 4.93 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.93. 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 earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.62 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $58.44 billion during 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.30 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 16th. Investors of record on Friday, February 2nd were given a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 1st. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is currently 26.68%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on COST shares. Gordon Haskett lowered shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to an “accumulate” rating and set a $775.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Tigress Financial upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $745.00 to $870.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $760.00 to $805.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $693.00 to $741.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 21st. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $585.00 to $630.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 15th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $673.36.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director W Craig Jelinek sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $685.93, for a total transaction of $5,487,440.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 216,212 shares in the company, valued at $148,306,297.16. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Costco Wholesale news, Director W Craig Jelinek sold 8,000 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $685.93, for a total transaction of $5,487,440.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 216,212 shares in the company, valued at $148,306,297.16. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Caton Frates sold 740 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $683.50, for a total transaction of $505,790.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,721 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,593,803.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 14,182 shares of company stock worth $9,809,558. 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.