Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Purchased by Valley National Advisers Inc.

Valley National Advisers Inc. boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 10.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 557 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the period. Valley National Advisers Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $407,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Alps Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 30.1% in the 3rd quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 18,635 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $10,528,000 after purchasing an additional 4,310 shares during the last quarter. Elevatus Welath Management increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 39.4% in the 3rd quarter. Elevatus Welath Management now owns 577 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $326,000 after buying an additional 163 shares during the period. Legacy Advisors LLC raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 6.9% during the 3rd quarter. Legacy Advisors LLC now owns 2,729 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,542,000 after buying an additional 176 shares during the last quarter. Lakeshore Financial Planning Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 3rd quarter worth $376,000. Finally, Laird Norton Trust Company LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 13.8% in the third quarter. Laird Norton Trust Company LLC now owns 2,884 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,629,000 after acquiring an additional 350 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:COST opened at $862.66 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $807.29 and a 200-day simple moving average of $743.56. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52 week low of $524.63 and a 52 week high of $873.96. The company has a market cap of $382.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.45, a P/E/G ratio of 5.68 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted 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. 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.43 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.98 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 26th were paid 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 0.54%. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.75%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

COST has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Roth Mkm reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $676.00 target price (up previously from $650.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Argus raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $805.00 to $900.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 28th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $680.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company raised 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. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $700.00 to $765.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $758.70.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,228,600. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.