Little House Capital LLC Boosts Stock Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Little House Capital LLC grew its position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 44.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,313 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,014 shares during the quarter. Little House Capital LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $2,187,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,134,947 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,901,040,000 after buying an additional 210,586 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 61,693.5% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,105,124 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,049,630,000 after buying an additional 3,100,099 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,689,514 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,519,468,000 after buying an additional 24,274 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,580,649 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,457,964,000 after buying an additional 28,259 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 18.3% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,088,673 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,180,016,000 after buying an additional 323,346 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In related news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $723.48, for a total transaction of $1,043,258.16. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 12,395 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,967,534.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the firm’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 value of $567,445.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,228,600. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $723.48, for a total value of $1,043,258.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 12,395 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,967,534.60. 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 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 1.0 %

COST stock traded up $7.32 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $729.18. The stock had a trading volume of 1,524,431 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,663,722. 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 1-year low of $476.75 and a 1-year high of $787.08. The company has a fifty day moving average of $730.41 and a 200 day moving average of $666.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $323.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.69, a PEG ratio of 4.86 and a beta of 0.77.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its quarterly 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. The company had revenue of $58.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $59.11 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 28.80% and a net margin of 2.73%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.30 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The firm 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 dividend of $1.16 per share. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 25th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.64%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.35%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on COST shares. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $665.00 to $749.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $680.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $800.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $630.00 to $710.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, Gordon Haskett lowered Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to an “accumulate” rating and set a $775.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.