Northern Financial Advisors Inc Has $1.06 Million Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Northern Financial Advisors Inc boosted its position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,604 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 19 shares during the quarter. Northern Financial Advisors Inc’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,059,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 28,855 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $16,302,000 after purchasing an additional 273 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 28.9% during the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 272,288 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $179,822,000 after acquiring an additional 61,122 shares during the period. Metis Global Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 15.6% during the 4th quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 21,514 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $14,201,000 after acquiring an additional 2,909 shares during the last quarter. Rice Partnership LLC lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 21.0% during the 3rd quarter. Rice Partnership LLC now owns 11,741 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $6,633,000 after buying an additional 2,038 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rappaport Reiches Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 23.5% in the fourth quarter. Rappaport Reiches Capital Management LLC now owns 814 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $538,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,695 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,785,786.85. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the 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 directly owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,228,600. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 3,727 shares of company stock valued at $2,682,948. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 0.9 %

COST traded down $7.03 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $764.28. 660,685 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,020,639. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $731.22 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $675.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $338.96 billion, a PE ratio of 50.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.95 and a beta of 0.77. Costco Wholesale Co. has a one year low of $476.75 and a one year high of $787.08. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.62 by $0.09. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 28.80% and a net margin of 2.73%. The business had revenue of $58.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $59.11 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.30 earnings per share. Costco Wholesale’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 26th will be issued a dividend of $1.16 per share. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.61%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 25th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.35%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on COST shares. StockNews.com downgraded Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Loop Capital decreased their price target 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. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $760.00 to $805.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Evercore ISI raised their target price 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, Citigroup lifted 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, Costco Wholesale presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $694.48.

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.