Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 3.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,657,994 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 77,345 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned about 0.60% of Costco Wholesale worth $1,754,489,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Richelieu Gestion SA bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC raised its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Steph & Co. increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 42.3% during the third quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 74 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the period. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $49,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,785,786.85. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $714.83, for a total transaction of $1,072,245.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,695 shares in the company, valued at $4,785,786.85. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of the business’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 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 quarter, insiders sold 3,727 shares of company stock valued at $2,682,948. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock traded down $6.08 on Wednesday, reaching $765.23. 773,248 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,021,661. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $339.38 billion, a PE ratio of 50.32, a PEG ratio of 4.95 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 business has a fifty day moving average price of $731.22 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $675.97.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $58.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $59.11 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.30 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business 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 dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 25th. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.61%. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.35%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on COST shares. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $760.00 to $805.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $800.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Monday. Loop Capital lowered their price target on Costco Wholesale from $830.00 to $820.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $630.00 to $710.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $665.00 to $749.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.