Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC Buys 97 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 14,709 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale accounts for 3.1% of Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest position. Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $9,709,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in COST. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 63.8% during the third quarter. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC now owns 113 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. Advisory Alpha LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 9.1% during the third quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC now owns 2,178 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,231,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares during the period. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.0% during the third quarter. Keudell Morrison Wealth Management now owns 2,192 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,239,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the period. LS Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 51.3% during the third quarter. LS Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,033 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,843,000 after purchasing an additional 1,707 shares during the period. Finally, Clarity Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.7% during the third quarter. Clarity Financial LLC now owns 27,357 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $15,455,000 after purchasing an additional 452 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on COST. Tigress Financial upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $745.00 to $870.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Roth Mkm upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $601.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $610.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $665.00 to $749.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $795.00 to $805.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $694.48.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

NASDAQ:COST opened at $729.18 on Friday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a twelve month low of $476.75 and a twelve month high of $787.08. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The company has a 50-day moving average of $730.41 and a 200-day moving average of $666.77. The firm has a market cap of $323.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.86 and a beta of 0.77.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.62 by $0.09. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.73% and a return on equity of 28.80%. The company had revenue of $58.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $59.11 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.30 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 26th will be given a $1.16 dividend. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 25th. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.64%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.35%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,228,600. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $714.83, for a total value of $1,072,245.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,695 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,785,786.85. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 value of $567,445.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,228,600. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 3,727 shares of company stock valued at $2,682,948 over the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.