Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Acquired by Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton

Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 3.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 699 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $661,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in COST. May Barnhard Investments LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth approximately $485,000. Brighton Jones LLC lifted 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 period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 13.1% in the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,123 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,029,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 33.3% in the fourth quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 188 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $172,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the period. Finally, Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 45.0% in the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 117,254 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $107,436,000 after acquiring an additional 36,384 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock opened at $986.27 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a twelve month low of $793.00 and a twelve month high of $1,078.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $437.39 billion, a PE ratio of 55.94, a P/E/G ratio of 6.11 and a beta of 0.97. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $1,005.02 and its 200 day moving average price is $981.05.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.04. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.48% and a net margin of 2.92%. The business had revenue of $63.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $62.93 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.78 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on COST shares. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Wall Street Zen raised Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 6th. Mizuho began coverage on Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, April 11th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $975.00 price target for the company. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,034.79.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In related news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 547 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $980.00, for a total transaction of $536,060.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 11,531 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,300,380. This represents a 4.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $981.07, for a total transaction of $3,924,280.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 43,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $43,161,193.58. The trade was a 8.33% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 9,547 shares of company stock worth $9,496,950 over the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.