Delta Financial Advisors LLC Has $2.72 Million Stock Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Delta Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 5.7% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 4,121 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 221 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale makes up 1.2% of Delta Financial Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest position. Delta Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $2,720,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Morgan Stanley boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 18.0% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 8,634,627 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,941,708,000 after acquiring an additional 1,315,174 shares during the last quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 118,320.2% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 7,396,524 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,376,513,000 after buying an additional 7,390,278 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,134,947 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,901,040,000 after buying an additional 210,586 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,328,844,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 61,693.5% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,105,124 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,049,630,000 after buying an additional 3,100,099 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In related news, Director W Craig Jelinek sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, Director W Craig Jelinek sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $723.48, for a total value of $1,043,258.16. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 12,395 shares in the company, valued at $8,967,534.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 10,942 shares of company stock valued at $7,602,943 over the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

COST has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Loop Capital cut their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $830.00 to $820.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 11th. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $680.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Tigress Financial increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $745.00 to $870.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $693.00 to $741.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 21st. Finally, StockNews.com cut Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $691.28.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ COST traded down $0.13 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $715.06. The company had a trading volume of 730,360 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,082,960. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.93. Costco Wholesale Co. has a one year low of $476.75 and a one year high of $787.08. The firm has a market cap of $317.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.85, a PEG ratio of 4.77 and a beta of 0.77. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $730.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $659.23.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.62 by $0.09. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 28.80% and a net margin of 2.73%. The company had revenue of $58.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $59.11 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.30 earnings per share. Costco Wholesale’s revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors of record on Friday, April 26th will be paid a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 25th. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.65%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.68%.

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.