477 Shares in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Bought by Steele Capital Management Inc.

Steele Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 477 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $315,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Richelieu Gestion SA acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC raised its holdings 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 buying an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Steph & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 42.3% in the third quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 74 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $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 owned by institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of COST stock traded down $5.89 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $720.44. The stock had a trading volume of 216,791 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,026,868. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $730.46 and its 200 day simple moving average is $668.62. 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 Co. has a 12 month low of $476.75 and a 12 month high of $787.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $319.52 billion, a PE ratio of 47.19, a PEG ratio of 4.86 and a beta of 0.77.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.62 by $0.09. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.73% and a return on equity of 28.80%. The company had revenue of $58.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $59.11 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.30 earnings per share. Costco Wholesale’s revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.84 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on COST. Oppenheimer increased their target price 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. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price 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. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $800.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Evercore ISI increased their target price 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. Finally, Loop Capital decreased their price objective 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. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $694.48.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In related news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $723.48, for a total value of $1,043,258.16. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 12,395 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,967,534.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $723.48, for a total value of $1,043,258.16. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 12,395 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,967,534.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,228,600. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 3,727 shares of company stock valued at $2,682,948 over the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.