Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC Acquires 1,599 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 2.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 58,847 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,599 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale makes up 1.0% of Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $38,844,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in COST. Richelieu Gestion SA bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 200.0% in the 4th quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 45 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the period. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Steph & Co. increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 42.3% in the third quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 74 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the period. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth about $49,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

COST has been the topic of several recent research reports. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $630.00 to $710.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $680.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. StockNews.com lowered Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $800.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Roth Mkm increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $601.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $694.48.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 0.4 %

COST traded down $2.85 on Monday, hitting $726.33. 1,526,256 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,049,164. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.93. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $730.46 and its 200-day moving average is $668.62. The company has a market cap of $322.13 billion, a PE ratio of 47.50, a PEG ratio of 4.86 and a beta of 0.77. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12 month low of $476.75 and a 12 month high of $787.08.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.62 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $58.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $59.11 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 28.80% and a net margin of 2.73%. The business’s revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.30 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors of record on Friday, April 26th will be paid a $1.16 dividend. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 25th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.35%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $722.86, for a total value of $567,445.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $7,228,600. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $722.86, for a total transaction of $567,445.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,228,600. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $723.48, for a total transaction of $1,043,258.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 12,395 shares in the company, valued at $8,967,534.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 3,727 shares of company stock worth $2,682,948. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.