Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Stake Raised by RB Capital Management LLC

RB Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 17,338 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale comprises about 3.3% of RB Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. RB Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $11,444,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Howard Financial Services LTD. increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. now owns 870 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $574,000 after buying an additional 15 shares during the period. First National Corp MA ADV increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. First National Corp MA ADV now owns 3,098 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,045,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the period. Morton Capital Management LLC CA lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Morton Capital Management LLC CA now owns 1,564 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,032,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the period. Insight Advisors LLC PA boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Insight Advisors LLC PA now owns 2,736 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,807,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Optas LLC increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Optas LLC now owns 2,383 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,573,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

COST has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Roth Mkm upped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $601.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $795.00 to $805.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Citigroup upped 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. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $665.00 to $749.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Seven investment 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, Costco Wholesale currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $694.48.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 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 accessible through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of the 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,695 shares in the company, valued at $4,785,786.85. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of Costco Wholesale 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 transaction, the director now 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 have sold 3,727 shares of company stock valued at $2,682,948 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of COST stock traded down $0.68 on Wednesday, hitting $722.22. The stock had a trading volume of 1,571,512 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,032,143. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52-week low of $476.75 and a 52-week high of $787.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $320.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.12, a P/E/G ratio of 4.84 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.93. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $730.40 and its 200-day moving average is $669.72.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 earnings per share 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 analysts’ expectations 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% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.64%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 25th. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 30.35%.

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.