DGS Capital Management LLC Boosts Stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

DGS Capital Management LLC raised its position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 7.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 416 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 29 shares during the period. DGS Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $275,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. United Asset Strategies Inc. boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 15.1% in the 4th quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. now owns 2,079 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,372,000 after buying an additional 272 shares during the last quarter. Imprint Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 9.4% during the fourth quarter. Imprint Wealth LLC now owns 580 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $397,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Prosperitas Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 10.8% during the fourth quarter. Prosperitas Financial LLC now owns 2,638 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,742,000 after purchasing an additional 258 shares during the last quarter. First American Trust FSB lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 43.3% during the fourth quarter. First American Trust FSB now owns 1,654 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,093,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Grant GrossMendelsohn LLC lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 6.4% during the fourth quarter. Grant GrossMendelsohn LLC now owns 3,341 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,295,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on COST shares. Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $760.00 to $805.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $680.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $795.00 to $805.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $610.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $691.28.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:COST opened at $715.97 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $317.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.83, a PEG ratio of 4.78 and a beta of 0.77. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 1-year low of $476.75 and a 1-year high of $787.08. 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 company has a 50 day moving average price of $730.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $658.84.

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

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 a positive change from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 25th. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.65%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Yoram Rubanenko sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $680.33, for a total value of $1,700,825.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 5,910 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,020,750.30. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Costco Wholesale news, VP Yoram Rubanenko sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $680.33, for a total value of $1,700,825.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 5,910 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,020,750.30. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,967,534.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 13,442 shares of company stock valued at $9,303,768. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.