Steele Capital Management Inc. Buys 57 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Steele Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 11.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 534 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 57 shares during the period. Steele Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $454,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth about $3,628,694,000. Global Assets Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the first quarter worth approximately $510,353,000. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 3,647.1% in the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 567,641 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $374,688,000 after purchasing an additional 552,492 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 40,360,168 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $26,640,940,000 after buying an additional 485,051 shares during the period. Finally, Swedbank AB bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 1st quarter worth approximately $285,618,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

COST stock traded down $2.11 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $862.71. The company had a trading volume of 1,277,119 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,990,538. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.94. The firm has a market cap of $382.47 billion, a PE ratio of 53.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.49 and a beta of 0.78. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12 month low of $530.56 and a 12 month high of $896.67. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $846.68 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $779.49.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted 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. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.83% and a return on equity of 30.02%. The company had revenue of $58.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $58.16 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.43 EPS. Costco Wholesale’s revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 26th were given a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 26th. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.54%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 350 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $851.53, for a total value of $298,035.50. Following the sale, the director now owns 5,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,041,057.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 350 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $851.53, for a total value of $298,035.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,041,057.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $848.53, for a total value of $1,272,795.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 10,992 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,327,041.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 3,350 shares of company stock valued at $2,837,131. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on COST shares. Evercore ISI cut their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $920.00 to $915.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Roth Mkm restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $676.00 target price (up from $650.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Loop Capital upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $970.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $900.00 to $950.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $765.00 to $830.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $824.50.

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.