Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Purchased by Mather Group LLC.

Mather Group LLC. raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 2.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,831 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 231 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $6,489,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Richelieu Gestion SA purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 200.0% in the 4th quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 45 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Steph & Co. raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 42.3% during 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 last quarter. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at about $49,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 0.8 %

NASDAQ:COST traded down $6.18 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $723.00. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 313,781 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,033,859. Costco Wholesale Co. has a twelve month low of $476.75 and a twelve month high of $787.08. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $730.41 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $667.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.43. The stock has a market cap of $320.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.69, a P/E/G ratio of 4.86 and a beta of 0.77.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 earnings per share (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 business had revenue of $58.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $59.11 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.30 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.84 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 26th will be paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 25th. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.64%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is currently 30.35%.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $714.83, for a total value of $1,072,245.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,785,786.85. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,785,786.85. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $722.86, for a total transaction of $567,445.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,228,600. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 3,727 shares of company stock worth $2,682,948 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

COST has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Gordon Haskett downgraded Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to an “accumulate” rating and set a $775.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $680.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $630.00 to $710.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $610.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, Tigress Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $745.00 to $870.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus 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.