Ocean Capital Management LLC Raises Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Ocean Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 55,214 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 530 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale accounts for about 14.7% of Ocean Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Ocean Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $36,446,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Richelieu Gestion SA purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Steph & Co. increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 42.3% during the third quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 74 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth approximately $49,000. Finally, Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 888.9% in the 3rd quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 89 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

COST has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $760.00 to $805.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. StockNews.com cut shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 8th. Tigress Financial lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $745.00 to $870.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Raymond James increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $580.00 to $670.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 15th. Finally, Loop Capital lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $710.00 to $755.00 in a research report on Friday, January 19th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $668.50.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of COST stock opened at $732.63 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.43. Costco Wholesale Co. has a one year low of $476.75 and a one year high of $787.08. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $724.29 and its 200-day moving average price is $642.61. The company has a market capitalization of $324.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.92, a PEG ratio of 5.06 and a beta of 0.77.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.62 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $58.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $59.11 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 28.80% and a net margin of 2.73%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.30 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 2nd were paid a $1.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 1st. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.56%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 26.68%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director W Craig Jelinek sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $685.93, for a total transaction of $5,487,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 216,212 shares in the company, valued at $148,306,297.16. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, Director W Craig Jelinek sold 8,000 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $685.93, for a total value of $5,487,440.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 216,212 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $148,306,297.16. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Caton Frates sold 740 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $683.50, for a total value of $505,790.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,721 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,593,803.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 15,582 shares of company stock worth $10,736,778 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale 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.