Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Purchased by General Partner Inc.

General Partner Inc. lifted its position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 16.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,401 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 336 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale accounts for approximately 1.1% of General Partner Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. General Partner Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,759,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in COST. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 11.7% during the 4th quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,910 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,921,000 after buying an additional 305 shares during the last quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth about $12,398,000. Fairman Group LLC acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth about $243,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 38.5% in the 4th quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 352,961 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $232,982,000 after buying an additional 98,184 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Warren Street Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Warren Street Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 427 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $282,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Loop Capital boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $890.00 to $940.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 14th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $777.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. Citigroup boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $710.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. Gordon Haskett lowered shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to an “accumulate” rating and set a $775.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $900.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 6th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $751.85.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 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 owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $7,228,600. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.3 %

COST stock opened at $870.75 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $780.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $727.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $386.03 billion, a PE ratio of 53.95, a P/E/G ratio of 5.74 and a beta of 0.79. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12 month low of $516.54 and a 12 month high of $873.96. 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 (NASDAQ:COST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 30th. The retailer reported $3.78 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.70 by $0.08. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.83% and a return on equity of 30.02%. The business had revenue of $58.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $58.16 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.43 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

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

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.