Cozad Asset Management Inc. Acquires 80 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Cozad Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,692 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale comprises approximately 1.4% of Cozad Asset Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest holding. Cozad Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $12,338,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. now owns 4,948 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,266,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Field & Main Bank increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Field & Main Bank now owns 5,221 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,446,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 58,847 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $38,844,000 after purchasing an additional 1,599 shares during the period. Ledyard National Bank increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 11.8% during the fourth quarter. Ledyard National Bank now owns 2,158 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,424,000 after buying an additional 227 shares during the period. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 95,517 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $63,049,000 after buying an additional 4,595 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $714.83, for a total transaction of $1,072,245.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,785,786.85. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the director now owns 12,395 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,967,534.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $714.83, for a total value of $1,072,245.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,785,786.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 3,727 shares of company stock valued at $2,682,948. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

COST has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Loop Capital cut their target price on Costco Wholesale from $830.00 to $820.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $665.00 to $749.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on 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 reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $680.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $800.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $694.48.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 0.7 %

COST traded down $4.92 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $721.41. 387,979 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,029,139. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $730.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $668.62. 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 has a market cap of $319.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.86 and a beta of 0.77. Costco Wholesale Co. has a twelve month low of $476.75 and a twelve month high of $787.08.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $58.44 billion during 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 for the quarter was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.30 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.84 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.64%. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.35%.

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.