Sloy Dahl & Holst LLC Boosts Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Sloy Dahl & Holst LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 26.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,077 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 225 shares during the quarter. Sloy Dahl & Holst LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $711,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Richelieu Gestion SA bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 200.0% in the fourth quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 45 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Steph & Co. boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 42.3% in the third quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 74 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the period. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth $49,000. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Costco Wholesale stock traded up $0.66 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $716.63. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 201,680 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,084,806. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $730.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $658.84. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12 month low of $476.75 and a 12 month high of $787.08. The company has a market capitalization of $317.83 billion, a PE ratio of 46.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.78 and a beta of 0.77.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 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 firm had revenue of $58.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $59.11 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.30 earnings per share. Costco Wholesale’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 26th will be issued a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.65%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 25th. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is presently 26.68%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Costco Wholesale news, Director W Craig Jelinek sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $685.93, for a total transaction of $5,487,440.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 216,212 shares in the company, valued at approximately $148,306,297.16. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Costco Wholesale news, VP Yoram Rubanenko sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $680.33, for a total transaction of $1,700,825.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 5,910 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,020,750.30. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, 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 value of $5,487,440.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 216,212 shares in the company, valued at approximately $148,306,297.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 13,442 shares of company stock worth $9,303,768. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on COST shares. Northcoast Research downgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $620.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Wednesday, December 20th. Loop Capital reduced their price target 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. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $795.00 to $805.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $680.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $760.00 to $805.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $691.28.

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.