Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. Has $9.46 Million Stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 6.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 14,333 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 854 shares during the period. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $9,460,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. RB Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. RB Capital Management LLC now owns 17,338 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $11,444,000 after buying an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc. grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc. now owns 8,763 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,784,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Concord Wealth Partners grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 44.2% in the 4th quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 2,804 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,851,000 after buying an additional 859 shares during the last quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 3,991 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,635,000 after buying an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Triumph Capital Management acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $267,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director now owns 12,395 shares in the company, valued at $8,967,534.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $722.86, for a total value of $567,445.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,228,600. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 3,727 shares of company stock valued at $2,682,948. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

COST has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $630.00 to $710.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $795.00 to $805.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. 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 objective on Costco Wholesale from $760.00 to $805.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, Gordon Haskett lowered Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to an “accumulate” rating and set a $775.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Seven 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 presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $694.48.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock traded down $0.68 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $722.22. 1,607,443 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,040,272. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. Costco Wholesale Co. has a twelve month low of $476.75 and a twelve month high of $787.08. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $730.40 and a 200-day moving average price of $669.72. 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.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.62 by $0.09. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 28.80% and a net margin of 2.73%. The business had revenue of $58.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $59.11 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.30 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate 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. Shareholders 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 yield of 0.64%. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 25th. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is presently 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.