Thompson Davis & CO. Inc. Increases Stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Thompson Davis & CO. Inc. increased its position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 10.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,381 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 131 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale comprises 0.8% of Thompson Davis & CO. Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest holding. Thompson Davis & CO. Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $912,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Richelieu Gestion SA bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 200.0% in the 4th quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 45 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Steph & Co. boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 42.3% in the 3rd 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 position in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth about $49,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $795.00 to $805.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $630.00 to $710.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $665.00 to $749.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Roth Mkm boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $601.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $610.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $694.48.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ COST traded down $3.43 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $722.90. 1,734,041 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,045,451. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.93. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 52 week low of $476.75 and a 52 week high of $787.08. The company has a market cap of $320.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.28, a PEG ratio of 4.86 and a beta of 0.77. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $730.40 and a 200-day moving average price of $669.72.

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

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $723.48, for a total transaction of $1,043,258.16. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 12,395 shares in the company, valued at $8,967,534.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $722.86, for a total value of $567,445.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $7,228,600. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $723.48, for a total value of $1,043,258.16. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 12,395 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,967,534.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 3,727 shares of company stock valued at $2,682,948 over the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.