Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Bought by Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc.

Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 11.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,910 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 305 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale makes up 0.9% of Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,921,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Richelieu Gestion SA purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 200.0% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Vima LLC acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.3 %

COST opened at $870.75 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.45. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12 month low of $516.54 and a 12 month high of $873.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $386.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.95, a P/E/G ratio of 5.74 and a beta of 0.79. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $780.22 and a 200-day simple moving average of $727.16.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 30th. The retailer reported $3.78 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.70 by $0.08. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.02% and a net margin of 2.83%. The company had revenue of $58.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $58.16 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.43 earnings per share. Costco Wholesale’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 26th were given a dividend of $1.16 per share. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 25th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In related 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,228,600. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on COST shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $750.00 to $775.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Telsey Advisory Group lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 6th. Argus increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $805.00 to $900.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 28th. Finally, Gordon Haskett cut shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to an “accumulate” rating and set a $775.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $751.85.

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.