Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Holdings Raised by Whalerock Point Partners LLC

Whalerock Point Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.3% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 12,630 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 157 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale comprises approximately 2.7% of Whalerock Point Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest position. Whalerock Point Partners LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $11,573,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Morse Asset Management Inc raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 20.1% in the third quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc now owns 7,481 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $6,632,000 after acquiring an additional 1,254 shares during the period. Anchor Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 2.0% in the third quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 7,996 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,088,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares during the period. Fulcrum Equity Management increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 76.8% in the third quarter. Fulcrum Equity Management now owns 633 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $561,000 after buying an additional 275 shares in the last quarter. Eaton Financial Holdings Company LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the third quarter worth $216,000. Finally, Sculati Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Sculati Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,649 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,235,000 after buying an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on COST shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $935.00 to $995.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Loop Capital reduced their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,045.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,035.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Cfra Research upgraded Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,024.03.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $922.56, for a total value of $830,304.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,987 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,445,926.72. The trade was a 11.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $981.07, for a total value of $3,924,280.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 43,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,161,193.58. This trade represents a 8.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 9,600 shares of company stock valued at $9,140,195 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

COST stock opened at $977.16 on Friday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a one year low of $715.32 and a one year high of $1,078.24. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $966.46 and a two-hundred day moving average of $955.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $433.55 billion, a PE ratio of 57.38, a P/E/G ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.09 by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $63.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $63.02 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 32.31% and a net margin of 2.93%. On average, analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd will be issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 2nd. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.36%.

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.