Fidelis Capital Partners LLC Raises Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Fidelis Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 12.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 15,184 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,640 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale comprises approximately 2.2% of Fidelis Capital Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $10,022,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Richelieu Gestion SA bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 200.0% in the fourth quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 45 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Steph & Co. increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 42.3% in the third quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 74 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at $49,000. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Gordon Haskett lowered shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to an “accumulate” rating and set a $775.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Loop Capital lowered their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $830.00 to $820.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $795.00 to $805.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $760.00 to $805.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $691.28.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director W Craig Jelinek sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $685.93, for a total value of $5,487,440.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 216,212 shares in the company, valued at $148,306,297.16. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Director W Craig Jelinek sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $685.93, for a total value of $5,487,440.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 216,212 shares in the company, valued at $148,306,297.16. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of the firm’s 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 in the company, valued at approximately $8,967,534.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 11,727 shares of company stock worth $8,170,388. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of COST traded down $4.32 on Friday, hitting $706.93. 446,872 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,074,980. The company has a market capitalization of $313.52 billion, a PE ratio of 46.52, a P/E/G ratio of 4.76 and a beta of 0.77. 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 business has a 50 day simple moving average of $730.57 and a 200 day simple moving average of $659.59. Costco Wholesale Co. has a one year low of $476.75 and a one year high of $787.08.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.62 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $58.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $59.11 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.73% and a return on equity of 28.80%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.30 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors of record on Friday, April 26th will be issued a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 25th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.66%. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.68%.

Costco Wholesale Company 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.