Choreo LLC Boosts Stock Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Choreo LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 28.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 12,122 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,715 shares during the period. Choreo LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $8,184,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Richelieu Gestion SA purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 200.0% during the fourth quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 45 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Steph & Co. grew 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 bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:COST traded down $6.31 during trading on Monday, hitting $722.87. 544,323 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,037,115. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $730.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $667.48. The company has a market cap of $320.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.22, a PEG ratio of 4.86 and a beta of 0.77. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52-week low of $476.75 and a 52-week 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.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 company posted $3.30 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.84 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors of record on Friday, April 26th will be given a $1.16 dividend. 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 dividend yield of 0.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 25th. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is currently 30.35%.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $722.86, for a total transaction of $567,445.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $7,228,600. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, 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 value of $1,072,245.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,695 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,785,786.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 3,727 shares of company stock valued at $2,682,948 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on COST shares. StockNews.com downgraded Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Tigress Financial raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $745.00 to $870.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and set a $680.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $760.00 to $805.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $665.00 to $749.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $694.48.

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.