Continuum Advisory LLC Boosts Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Continuum Advisory LLC grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.0% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 4,353 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 42 shares during the quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $3,989,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of COST. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,201,610 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $38,668,069,000 after buying an additional 455,043 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,739,175 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $8,901,249,000 after buying an additional 252,118 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,457,824 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $8,665,921,000 after buying an additional 149,209 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $5,182,316,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 12.6% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,257,809 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,817,573,000 after acquiring an additional 587,303 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

NASDAQ:COST opened at $1,036.82 on Wednesday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12-month low of $788.20 and a 12-month high of $1,078.24. The firm has a market cap of $460.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 60.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 1.00. The company’s 50-day moving average is $966.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $969.95. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23.

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

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 2nd. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.50%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.36%.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $931.00, for a total transaction of $3,351,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 41,077 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $38,242,687. This trade represents a 8.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of the company’s 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 now owns 43,994 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,161,193.58. This trade represents a 8.33% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 9,600 shares of company stock valued at $9,140,195. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on COST shares. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Barclays increased their target price on 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. raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Mizuho initiated coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, April 11th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $975.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,035.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Ten investment 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.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,024.03.

Costco Wholesale 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.