Ameriprise Financial Inc. Purchases 5,749 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,517,467 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,749 shares during the quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.34% of Costco Wholesale worth $1,389,003,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Alteri Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,650,000. AmeriServ Wealth Advisors bought a new position in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth about $1,246,000. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 15.7% during the fourth quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 26,562 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $24,338,000 after purchasing an additional 3,599 shares in the last quarter. Arrowroot Family Office LLC grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 13.2% in the 4th quarter. Arrowroot Family Office LLC now owns 1,151 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,055,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares during the period. Finally, Aspire Growth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth approximately $309,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

COST has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $935.00 to $995.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th. DA Davidson upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,024.03.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Gary Millerchip sold 1,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $940.01, for a total value of $1,034,011.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,495,211.65. This represents a 8.97 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $981.07, for a total value of $3,924,280.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 43,994 shares in the company, valued at $43,161,193.58. This represents a 8.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 9,600 shares of company stock valued at $9,140,195. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ:COST opened at $1,008.30 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $961.44 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $959.44. The company has a market capitalization of $447.37 billion, a PE ratio of 59.21, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.95. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52 week low of $746.48 and a 52 week high of $1,078.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.98.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.09 by ($0.07). Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 32.31% and a net margin of 2.93%. The business had revenue of $63.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $63.02 billion. Analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 2nd will be given a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 2nd. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.52%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is currently 30.36%.

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.