Warren Street Wealth Advisors LLC Buys 23 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Warren Street Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 5.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 427 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the quarter. Warren Street Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $282,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of COST. Accent Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth approximately $4,225,000. M3 Advisory Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth approximately $408,000. Skyline Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,029,000. BlueChip Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth approximately $524,000. Finally, Walden Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at $774,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

NASDAQ:COST opened at $870.75 on Wednesday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1-year low of $516.54 and a 1-year high of $873.96. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The stock has a market cap of $386.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.74 and a beta of 0.79. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $780.22 and its 200-day moving average is $727.16.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 30th. The retailer reported $3.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.70 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $58.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $58.16 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.02% and a net margin of 2.83%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.43 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, June 2nd. Roth Mkm restated a “neutral” rating and set a $676.00 price objective (up previously from $650.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $750.00 to $775.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. Loop Capital raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $890.00 to $940.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 14th. Finally, Argus upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $805.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 28th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $751.85.

Insider Activity

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.