Strong Tower Advisory Services Grows Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Strong Tower Advisory Services grew its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 7.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,867 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 137 shares during the quarter. Strong Tower Advisory Services’ holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,346,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Richelieu Gestion SA acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 200.0% in the 4th quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 45 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the period. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Vima LLC purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ COST traded up $2.76 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $850.92. The company had a trading volume of 182,297 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,968,166. The stock has a market cap of $377.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.55, a PEG ratio of 5.61 and a beta of 0.79. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $790.73 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $734.25. 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 $521.26 and a 12 month high of $873.96.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 30th. The retailer reported $3.78 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $58.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $58.16 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.43 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 26th were paid a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 25th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.55%. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.75%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $905.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 6th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $710.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $680.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Roth Mkm restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $676.00 target price (up from $650.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, May 31st. Finally, Argus increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $805.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 28th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $752.96.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $7,228,600. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.