Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. Has $358,000 Stock Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. lessened its holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 3.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 542 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 20 shares during the period. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $358,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.0% during the third quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 28,855 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $16,302,000 after buying an additional 273 shares in the last quarter. Keating Investment Counselors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 43.0% in the 3rd quarter. Keating Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 2,643 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,493,000 after buying an additional 795 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 28.9% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 272,288 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $179,822,000 after acquiring an additional 61,122 shares during the last quarter. Rice Partnership LLC boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 21.0% in the third quarter. Rice Partnership LLC now owns 11,741 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $6,633,000 after acquiring an additional 2,038 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rappaport Reiches Capital Management LLC increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 23.5% in the fourth quarter. Rappaport Reiches Capital Management LLC now owns 814 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $538,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $722.86, for a total value of $567,445.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,228,600. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of Costco Wholesale 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,228,600. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,695 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,785,786.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 3,727 shares of company stock valued at $2,682,948. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:COST opened at $722.22 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $730.38 and a 200 day simple moving average of $670.09. The company has a market cap of $320.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.23, a PEG ratio of 4.81 and a beta of 0.77. Costco Wholesale Co. has a one year low of $476.75 and a one year high of $787.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.43.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $58.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $59.11 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.30 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict 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 is a boost from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.64%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.35%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on COST. Loop Capital reduced their price target on Costco Wholesale from $830.00 to $820.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Roth Mkm raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $601.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $760.00 to $805.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 5th. Tigress Financial increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $745.00 to $870.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $694.48.

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.