Carr Financial Group Corp Boosts Stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Carr Financial Group Corp increased its position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 13.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 719 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the period. Carr Financial Group Corp’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $680,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Capital & Planning LLC raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 28.7% during the 4th quarter. Capital & Planning LLC now owns 3,756 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,441,000 after acquiring an additional 837 shares during the last quarter. Redmond Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,214,000. May Barnhard Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $485,000. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. now owns 3,852 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,529,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 12.3% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 19,825 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $18,165,000 after acquiring an additional 2,172 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on the company. Mizuho assumed coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, April 11th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $975.00 price objective for the company. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 target price on Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Loop Capital cut their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,110.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Nine 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,034.79.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

COST opened at $980.29 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $434.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.60, a P/E/G ratio of 5.76 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 0.52. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $1,002.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $981.10. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 1-year low of $793.00 and a 1-year high of $1,078.24.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $63.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $62.93 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.48% and a net margin of 2.92%. The company’s revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.78 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 2nd. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is 29.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,014.15, for a total transaction of $2,028,300.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 8,210 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,326,171.50. This represents a 19.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $922.56, for a total value of $830,304.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,987 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,445,926.72. This trade represents a 11.41% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 11,547 shares of company stock worth $11,361,265. 0.18% of the stock is owned by 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.