D.B. Root & Company LLC Purchases 166 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

D.B. Root & Company LLC lifted its position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 4.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,726 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 166 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale accounts for 0.9% of D.B. Root & Company LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position. D.B. Root & Company LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $2,730,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Richelieu Gestion SA bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 200.0% during 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 stake in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Vima LLC bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 0.1 %

NASDAQ:COST opened at $849.99 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $376.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.66, a PEG ratio of 5.63 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12 month low of $524.63 and a 12 month high of $873.96. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $801.95 and a 200-day simple moving average of $740.64.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 30th. The retailer reported $3.78 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.70 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $58.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.43 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors of record on Friday, April 26th were issued a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 25th. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is 28.75%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $750.00 to $775.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. TD Cowen raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $777.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $710.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $700.00 to $765.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $875.00 price target (up previously from $800.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $756.85.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were 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 $7,228,600. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.