Van Cleef Asset Management Inc Purchases 204 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Van Cleef Asset Management Inc grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 48.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 626 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 204 shares during the period. Van Cleef Asset Management Inc’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $413,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of COST. Richelieu Gestion SA purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC increased 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 valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the period. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Steph & Co. increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 42.3% during the third quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 74 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the period. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,228,600. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, 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 filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were 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 approximately $7,228,600. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 3,727 shares of company stock valued at $2,682,948 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

COST has been the topic of several research reports. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $800.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $760.00 to $805.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Loop Capital cut their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $830.00 to $820.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 11th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $680.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $665.00 to $749.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $694.48.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock traded down $2.03 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $721.86. The stock had a trading volume of 1,612,268 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,062,339. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $730.36 and its 200 day moving average is $664.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $320.14 billion, a PE ratio of 46.77, a PEG ratio of 4.81 and a beta of 0.77. Costco Wholesale Co. has a twelve month low of $476.75 and a twelve month 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.62 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $58.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $59.11 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.73% and a return on equity of 28.80%. The company’s revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.30 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 26th will be given a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 25th. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.64%. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is 26.68%.

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.